Angels and Demons
by Nice-Guy-Wolf
Summary: "To commit sin is to commit treason. And to commit treason is like committing murder." A tale of a flareon and mightyena who live in a world where there is no peace and there is no innocence. The Crusades of Faith call upon Angels and Demons. Can they find it in themselves to forge Heaven? Or raise up Hell. This is a very sensitive story. Proceed with caution.
1. Chapter 1

**Caution**: **So this is the part where I talk about what this story will contain in its future. I'll just give it to you plainly.**

**Religion, Suicide, Torture, sexual interactions, abuse, and RAPE. That last one is a big concern of mine when I get further into this story. It's something that I'm not writing for the fun or the fame. But for the story. And that's it. I do not have any good feelings towards the topic. And I won't speak of it much in the notes from here on out. **

**This is the final warning before you get into this story. **

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**Chapter 1**

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Every part of my being cries out to stars that would not answer. To a God I believe existed. I gave him my prayers. I gave him my belief. But I am never answered. And in these moments. I have always questioned whether or not this God that my father preaches of actually exists. Or if everything I have understood is a lie.

'It would be nothing new.'

I thought the faithful in god could never be corrupted. I _believed_ there could be no breaking the laws of the Lord. But I was wrong. They're all heretics. False believers who make themselves out to be protectors of the Lord's' will, who will carry out the Lord's will, and who will be the Lord's will. But that's never true. It never has been.

This religion that my family follows and leads is nothing but corruption and deceit. Used as a manner of power and fame to control the kingdom of nightmares we live in. Used to fuel these Crusades of Faith as they call it. No man, woman, or child can deny the powers of the church or its residents lest they are accused of unfaithfulness. It is one of the greatest sins to them. To deny the Lord and his followers. To deny the laws he has set out for us to follow and obey without ever questioning them. But something burns in me brighter than the flames that fill my belly. Brighter than the agony that fills my soul.

I cannot help but believe that this so-called God doesn't exist. How can I? He has never given us a sign or brought us a miracle. And no one has ever seen him. Those that say they have cannot identify how the Lord came to them. And every time someone _meets_ the Lord. His body is somehow different as if he takes another form to greet each person differently. But there would be no reason for that. Should be no reason for that. What God hides his true form from the people they created? To me. A god that's false. A god that never really existed in our lives. But instead in our beliefs. Because that's all it is. A belief with no true evidence to support its ideas.

But who am I in this world to speak out against the Lord and his laws. I am the youngest of my family. Expected to follow and to preach of the Lord and his great doings. My word will mean nothing unless it is of the Lord and his greatness. My life will be nothing if I have no faith in the lord. But why must I live like this? To live in a world where no one will love me. Where my mate will be chosen for me. Where I must be forced to live with someone I have no feeling for. No emotion for. No love for.

Part of me has always thought of running. To leave this Kingdom of Heaven, or so they call it, and to run and to run and to run so far that their claws and teeth cannot slash and bite at me anymore. To be free from these iron chains that tie me to my family and their beliefs. But they would catch me. I would be too slow and them to fast. _He_ would be too fast to outrun. And he would punish me. Break my will to live. To feel innocent. But is anyone ever really innocent? Can anyone ever really avoid committing sins?

But what would it be worth to try and escape? Where would I go and how would I live? I would start out with nothing. To be nothing. Somehow that didn't feel all that bad. To not have people expecting something from me. To not have beliefs and responsibilities forced upon me. I could be my own person. To forge my own destiny. A life that could be anything I want it to be. But what would the cost be? Nothing can really be simple. For that would be a utopia.

"Are you still in bed? What will father think once he hears of how you have overslept again?" a whispery voice said.

A stunningly beautiful umbreon stood in the frame of the door. My older sister Mercy. My father gave her that name. He believed that she would grow up to be a great woman who would carry out the will of the Lord. And he would make sure of it. Mercy was forced to go to church every day and was educated to know each of the Lord's prayers by heart at the age of seven. By the age of twelve, she was a symbol of faith in the kingdom. Or at least that's what the high priests wanted everyone to believe.

Now at twenty-one years of age. Secretly at night, my sister goes out with a group of soldiers on the priests' commands to beat and, if necessary, kill anyone that defied the church. But it wasn't just people who didn't believe in the Lord. People who didn't commit to society, people who spoke of another religion, and even people the priests or their friends do not like. And to make matters worse. Mercy did not live up to her name.

Her methods were cruel and heartless. Usually with the intent to humiliate her victim. Those who got lucky were just given a beating and a warning that followed. But even the beatings resulted in broken bones or permanent damage. Those who weren't so lucky were broken. Their bodies were beaten to disfigurement and their will to live torn away from them. And Mercy was very creative in her methods. Scarring, amputating, shaming, she even attacked family or friends of her victim. No one was safe in the kingdom.

"I-I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep," I responded hoping to evade another beating from father.

I always wanted to believe that father loved me. To believe I held a place in the family. But he never once cared for me. He always loved Mercy and Jameson more than because they were older and because I was a mistake to him. He only ever talks to me if it is about the Lord. He acts as if I'm invisible if it isn't. And he'll beat me if I fail to meet his expectations. Something I pay the price for almost every day. Something I'll most likely pay the price for now.

"Are you giving excuses? Again? How shameful. To think our family has grown to be something so great and so powerful. And yet. We have a tiny flaw," Mercy said harshly. And though she was harsh. She was off. Something had happened and it was bothering her. I know because Mercy is never bothered by anything. "Well. I'd say it's your lucky day. Father wants the whole family to hold a meeting in the church. And believe it or not. You're the topic."

"What? Why?" I asked with fear in my heart. Never in my life had father held a meeting about me. He always did when it was about him, Jameson, or Mercy. But never me. And I knew it wouldn't be anything pleasant.

"Don't know. Don't care. Just know if you don't arrive on time. Father is going to be very, very upset. And you remember what happened last time. Don't you?" Mercy threatened sending flashes of that night father had left me out in the storm as punishment. I couldn't bear thinking about it.

"Y-yes big sis," I stuttered nervously trying to avoid her piercing gaze. Every umbreon had red eyes. So, of course, there's fear at first sight when someone looks at them. But Mercy's eyes were different. It's like she could stare into my soul with them. Part of me believed she could.

"Good. Then hurry up. He's already in a bad mood," she said before walking out of my room mumbling something under her breath.

I know I should get ready. But I buried my head into the fluff of my pillow. One thing I always loved doing was sleeping. It might seem that everyone enjoys the same thing. But I enjoy it because I, even for a couple of hours, can bury my stress and my worries in the back of my mind where I can't see or feel them. Where I can be truly free of reality. Of this nightmare I live in.

'Time to get up Angelica. Can't keep father waiting.'

I grabbed the blanket and pushed it off my body letting the cool air pick and nip at me. I never liked the cold. Part of that was for the obvious reason of being a flareon. But even when I was an eevee I still hated it. Something about having to have a coat or a blanket over your back to keep warm versus basking in the rays of the sun on a field felt stupid. And being further up North didn't help either.

I lifted my body off of the bed and onto the soft carpet laid out beneath me. I stretched my body starting with my forelegs and then my hind legs. I felt the fire in the pit of my stomach burn more warming my body to fight off the cold.

My room was like any and every other room in the castle. White, empty, and boring with the exception of my personal items. Though I didn't have much. Father says we had to earn the right to personal items. And not from working a job or with money. But instead by pleasing him. However, he's only allowed to force that upon us until the age of twenty-one. Which meant I still had another four years to go.

The few personal items I had were rewards from small tasks I had done when I was little. Father was easier on us when we were little. But not so much when we reached the double digits.

One of the items I had gotten first was a picture of Mother who passed away before I ever got the chance to remember her. A gorgeous vaporeon who was not thin nor fat. But just perfect. If the Lord truly does exist. Then he must've sculpted her body himself. No one else could match her.

Father never talked about her much. And the times that he did. It would only be of what she would've wanted from me. For me and my siblings to grow up with strong religious beliefs so that we could lead our people. And it's the same thing from Jameson and Mercy. They tell me only what they want me to know. But I know better. I know they hide the truth from me.

The item I had gotten right after that was a stuffed vaporeon. Another item to remind me of her. I slept with it every night to help me calm down. I felt safe when I held it. It and the picture were two of my only connections to her.

I looked at the stuffed vaporeon and the picture one last time before walking out of my room. I shut the door behind me and stood alone in the halls of the castle. The halls, like the rooms, had nothing to call them special. A few tables would be on the side with vases on top and the walls would occasionally bear a painting. Of course, the paintings were either of Heaven, the Lord, or the Lord's symbol. A golden X with a circle in the middle and two curves to the right and left of it. Each intersection of the two curves and the X had a jewel in the center.

I couldn't tell what time it was. It looked like it must've been somewhere from nine to eleven with the sun up and pouring through the window. The rays of light felt nice on my fur. Feeling the sun's warmth flow through me. A way of counteracting the sharp cold.

I shook my head to escape my trance. I had already overslept and I didn't want to even think of what would happen if I were late. I turned to the right and began to make my way down the long white halls.

It was a quiet morning today. Usually, there would be maids and servants mopping the floors or cleaning the art on the walls. But no one was around giving me new chills. I turned the next corner quickly hoping to escape the halls and bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry I was-" I lost my voice as I stared into the eyes of a grinning glaceon.

My older brother Jameson. The twenty-five-year-old is infamously known throughout the kingdom as the Scourge of the Faithless. Where Mercy preferred to strike silently during the night. Jameson took a more direct approach during the day. He didn't care what someone was doing at the moment of his arrival and he didn't care if anybody was watching. He would make you suffer in any way he could.

His ways of making someone suffer were just as cruel as Mercy's that usually ended with him publicly humiliating his victim and then warning anybody who's listening that the same thing would happen to them if they dared defy the Lord. And like Mercy, he would also use the family of the victim as a way of torturing them. He would beat wives, husbands, even children if he felt like it.

But Jameson was far worse than Mercy in every way. He crossed a line that even father would call unholy. Jameson had power as the son of the church and he knew it. But how he truly used that power was to force people into silence. Was to break them slowly not of their bones, but of their will and their innocence. And then force them to be quiet or he would have them executed. And who could stop him? No one could say anything because no one would take the word of a citizen over the word of the son of the church lest they defy the Lord himself.

The only people who knew about his dark secret were the ones who had felt its wrath. The ones who endured it and were forced into silence. The ones who lost their faith in the lord.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear you, little princess. Do you mind repeating?" he said staring down at me.

I swiftly looked down not wanting to look him in the eyes. But I could feel his deep gaze. I could always feel that gaze. "I-I-I wasn't l-looking. I-I'm sorry."

"Hmm," he hummed above me as a snout touched the side of my right cheek making me flinch. I was shaking now. My body rumbling on its own and the fire in my gut had now retreated into a withering flame. I felt his slimy tongue slide across my cheek down to my neck where he kissed me. "Don't you know to pay attention to where you're going little princess?"

"I-I-I…" the words I had wanted to say slipped away from me and it took me a few seconds to finally say, "I-I'm s-s-sorry."

His paw reached around to the left side of my body pulling me against him. My mind was racing with fear. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't run. Couldn't escape. He had me trapped and there was nothing I could do.

"Sorry won't work little princess. I'm going to need you to make it up to me," he said cackling into my neck.

Flashes of all the nights he had opened the door to my room. When he would lock us in there alone. When he would afflict me in the worst ways imaginable. His dark secret had an even deeper secret embedded within it. Something so cruel and terrible it would surely get him hanged. But he didn't care. Because he knew I would never accuse him of it. That I would never speak out against him. And deep inside. I knew it too.

"P-please. I-I'm sorry. It won't h-happen again. I p-promise," I said struggling to escape his cold grip. What could I do? Struggling was pointless. Fighting was pointless. I would never win against him. I could never win against him.

He pulled away from me and used one of his paws to lift up my chin so that he could stare me in the eyes. He frowned before saying, "It's too bad. Father wants us to come to the church for a meeting about you. Which means we can't spend brother-sister time together. Maybe another time. I won't let what happened today go. Remember that little princess."

"I-I will," I said feeling ease as he turned around and began walking. I fought against the urge to turn the other way and run. Nothing or no one could save me from this Hell. I was bound to my family by a chain that could not be broken and surrounded by a wall that could not be climbed. This Kingdom of Heaven was a prison and me its prisoner. I felt tears fill my eyes as I stood up and began to follow my brother to the church.

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**So here's the deal. I don't want to continue writing something that people will hate or find offensive. If this story doesn't get positive feedback. I will stop writing it. It's okay to be upfront with me about. Even Pm me if you need to. I need to know.**

**Chapter 1 wasn't that aggressive and I don't think we'll be reaching those heights for a while. But it will definitely reach them. Just be cautious my friends.**

**Criticism and reviews are appreciated. See you next time.**

_"Make the leap"_ \- Nice Guy Wolf


	2. Chapter 2

**So the Angels and Demons chapters are a quite a bit longer than the Scourge Wars chapters and they come from a different perspective. So they take a bit longer to write. I was also very sick over the weekend. Still am a little sick. But managed to get this out today. **

**Like I said. The next chapter that's coming out will be for The Scourge Wars. So lookout for that. **

**Anyways. Enjoy.**

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**Chapter 2**

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If there is a real God out there, I feel as if he has forsaken me to this Hell. There is no joy in me when I walk down the halls or streets and I know no sense of love around my family. Sometimes I don't feel like getting up from my rest. I want to stay under the covers of my sheets with my head gently resting on my soft pillow. I want to live in that world where dreams are a reality. And maybe I could. Maybe I could live in that world if I went into my eternal slumber. A final solution to all my problems. It would be so effortless. So easy. All I would have to do is a jump. And let the ground come to me and give me freedom.

But I am far too scared to go there. As much as I hate my life and my family. I am a coward. Too scared to take risks or to fight back. And maybe that was for the best. At least it would keep me from another one of my father's beatings or one of my brothers 'sessions'. It would be nice though. To fight back against it all. To abandon the fear in my head and to unleash the flame from my belly. To raze it all to the ground without holding back. A true and perfect fire.

I pushed the thought away from my mind as Jameson and I approached the door to the courtyard. He pushed the door open with one of his paws letting the sun seep its way in. The heat ran across my back like little eevees running across a field of flowers. It was nice to feel the natural heat of the sun. It was always better than any other kind of heat in the world. To a fire type, the natural heat of the sun was like a meal that was cooked just right. Not too hot and not too cold. Anything else was either undercooked or overcooked with a taste that couldn't compare. But only fire types could notice the difference. To anyone else, it was just bland. Tasteless.

I didn't realize that I was standing still until Jameson grabbed me by my ear and said, "Hey. You in there princess? No time for slacking off." He threw me to the ground in front of the door hard making me whimper. I stood up slowly only to feel him push me back down with one of his paws. I heard him lean down and say, "I wonder what father would do if you were late again. Hmm. Maybe he'll throw you back in the Cellar for another night."

Another night in the Cellar was something I definitely did not want to experience again. Father never had a nice side. He was always very serious about the church and how my siblings and I were to grow up. He made us work for our personal items, forced us to remember and recite the holy songs three times a day, and was strict about what times we had to wake up, eat, and sleep. He's especially serious about time. Being late was a big deal to him. And if anyone was late in a matter that involved him, he would make sure they would regret it by throwing them in the Cellar.

The Cellar lies deep beneath the dungeons of the castle. It was built a long time ago to hold those who needed a much crueler lesson in the faith. But my father didn't use it for cruel lessons in the faith alone. He used it to get his point across to those who dare challenged his word or caused a nuisance to him. The nuisance bit applies to me most of the time. He usually put me in the Cellar whenever I was late for some important meeting or something small like lunch. And there's no end to what kind of punishments he can come up with. But his most infamous punishment was throwing me in the Cellar with Jameson.

Of course, father didn't know what my older brother did to me in the Cellar or in my own room for that matter. But it worked every time. I would always come out more compliant. So my father never bothered to persist asking what the "treatment" was. I never bothered saying anything either. It would only earn me a beating and ultimately more time in the cellar. So I was definitely not ready to be late for Father's meeting. Especially if it involved me.

"Get your hands off that girl this instance Jameson!" a rough and oldish sounding voice demanded. I smiled gratefully and tilted my head to the left where Darwin, an old but mean-looking houndoom was staring my brother down.

My father never knew his parents or my grandparents. He never talked about it whenever someone brought it up. But Darwin found my father one night and took him in as his own son. He took care of my father and taught him the ways of the faith until eventually, my father grew up to be the high priest of the church. However, Darwin, unlike my father, was much nicer. The old houndoom always encouraged anyone and everyone he talked to to be nice and welcoming to those in need of help. He especially wanted Father to be like that. But my father didn't think the same way Darwin did. And thus he grew up to be much crueler than Darwin had intended.

My father allowed Darwin to reside within the castle for as long as he wanted. A way of thanking him for being a father. Darwin was thankful for the offer but decided he would live in his house within the city. That was until my brother, my sister, and I were born. He came back into the castle to help take care of us since father was busy most of the time. Like he did with father, he tried to make the best out of my siblings and I. He wanted us to grow up to be better than father turned out to be. But my father's influence rubbed off on Mercy and Jameson more and they turned out to be similar to father, just with different methods. But I was influenced more by Darwin. He was always kind and caring to me. And he always defended me.

Jameson scowled at the old houndoom. "Yeah. Sure," he said lifting his paw off of me allowing me to stand up.

Just as much as Darwin was kind and caring, he could be just as mean and harsh. Plus, the houndoom although old, was built like a bodybuilder. Whenever I was bullied by Mercy or Jameson. He would step in if he was there and both of my siblings would back off. Darwin was known to be able to take down four men down by himself. No one dared challenge his word or his skill.

He walked over to us and said, "One of these days Jameson I'm going to give ya an ass-whooping so bad ya won't be able to sit down for a week. Go to your father right now and tell him Angelica will be a minute. I need to talk to her."

Jameson looked at Darwin confused. "You do know if she's late. Father _will_ throw her in the Cellar again." Now I was scared. Darwin was going to make me late for something that not only involved a family meeting. But had something to do with me. If I was late for this meeting. I'm sure the Cellar would not be my only punishment.

Darwin sat down and sighed making him look ten times his age. "Tell your father that I'll be talking to her in the courtyard for a few minutes. He'll understand."

Jameson looked unconvinced and said, "Sure. He'll understand that the Cellar will be her only home after this." Part me actually believed that Father might actually consider that.

"Maybe it'll be yours if ya don't shut it," Darwin said firmly. He leaned in close to Jameson's ear and whispered something I couldn't hear. But whatever he said clearly had a drastic effect on my brother. "Now. Be on your way," Darwin commanded. Jameson nodded his head and walked away after giving me one last glance.

I looked at Darwin who was whispering something under his breath that I could barely hear. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything nice.

He looked at me and smiled. "So. How did ya sleep?" he asked.

"Fine…. What did you say to Jameson?" I asked curiously.

"Something he won't forget. Don't worry about it my dear. Right now we have other things to address," he said frowning. As much as I was curious to know what he had told Jameson. I was also curious about why he wanted to talk to me and why he couldn't save it for later. Especially if it was going to cause me to be late for a family meeting about me.

"What's so important that it'll cause me to be late for the family meeting?" I asked sitting down.

Darwin raised his paw and rubbed my head softly. Darwin's smiles were always heartwarming. There seemed to be endless happiness behind them. But this time was different. His smile wasn't one full of happiness. But it appeared to have sadness behind it. Which was extremely unusual. He put his paw down and asked quietly, "Do ya know what my last name is my dear?"

I shook my head and said, "You never told me and father never speaks about it."

The old houndoom laughed, "Your father might say that he knows. But I never told him either. He just says he knows just to trick ya."

That explained a lot. Our family name had always been Celindrous. But it didn't come down from my father's side. But instead from my mother's side. In fact. I didn't even know father's surname. Nobody really did. Darwin had told me that Father married mother quite soon after he turned the age of twenty-one. And instead of adopting his family name which he apparently he never knew himself. They adopted my mother's family name which wasn't custom here. But the high priest back then gave them a pass considering my father didn't actually know his true surname. Not even Jameson or Mercy knew what father's adopted surname was.

"Really?" I asked.

"Aye," he said smiling like the regular again. That was a good sign.

"So… then what is it?" I asked impatiently.

He looked at me again for a few seconds. It looked like he was almost studying me. Finally, after a few minutes, he answered with, "Maelstrom."

"Maelstrom?"

"Aye."

"As in a whirlpool?"

"Yeah."

I stared at him suspiciously. But he didn't flinch from my glare. He stared back at me. Suddenly we were locked in a staring contest. And I was losing.

After blinking a few times to water my eyes again. I asked, "Isn't that a weird surname?"

He laughed loudly before responding with, "Aye. That it is. But it's my surname nonetheless." I didn't think it was that funny. I instead just frowned at the laughing old man. I wondered if he had made me late for this reason or if there was more.

He looked down at me and realized I wasn't laughing. He stopped laughing and cleared his throat. "W-well. Now ya now my surname. I want ya to know that nobody else here knows it and that I'm only telling ya because I trust ya more than anyone here with that information."

"You're making it sound like it's a big deal," I said looking around to see if anyone was watching. I was especially checking if my father or one of my siblings was coming to grab and drag me to the meeting. I don't know how long it might've been now. I don't want to know.

"My surname has plenty more meaning than ya might think. Right now ya won't understand why it's important. But now that we got that out of the way. There's something else I got to tell ya," Darwin said easily as if the conversation was over. He was always bad about that. Starting a conversation about something that brings up questions and then completely changing to something else. I honestly believe if he somehow knew when the end of the world was upon us and was giving us this whole long prophecy. Some point in his great speech he would cut off and speak of how hungry he is. It wouldn't be surprising in the slightest.

He scratched his chin and shivered. "Damn this cold. If only the holy saints had picked a better place closer to the equator." I giggled at that. Something we had in common was we both hated the cold even if he was half fire and half dark. "Now. Let's talk about the meeting today," Darwin said looking at me. Now I was concerned. No one ever pulled to the side before a meeting to talk about it. Whatever was being discussed would be saved for the meeting. So if I was getting a heads up about what was to come, it must be serious.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Well. Your father is in a very bad mood today. Mostly because we lost the war," he said looking annoyed.

The war, or the Crusades of Faith as my father liked to call them, was a long and brutal battle between the tame and the wild. The tame was the obvious, the Kingdom of Arceus. The name had been used for the kingdom since its early days. The ancient texts say it came from the Lord as a blessing upon the kingdom. People who live in the kingdom are civilized and mannered. We are made to commit to that every day of our lives. We only use our abilities if it's to help the guards in capturing a criminal or if we're enlisted in the war. Of course, we're allowed to practice our abilities at school or within sight of a guard. Otherwise, we'd be losing one critical part of our beings.

The wild, however, is more savage and uncontrolled. The stories I've heard about them tell of people who live with no law and no bounds and who have separate tribes instead of a Kingdom as a whole. My father thought it would be easy to wipe out a country full of people who are split into tribes. But when the war started, the people of the wild came together and fought against us. Unlike the people of my kingdom, the people of the wild had no restraint to when and where they could use their abilities, thus giving them more practice and control. But my father says they should value being civilized rather than being uncontrolled beasts.

So now to hear that we've lost the war to the wild gives me mixed feelings. It felt good knowing my father lost something he proudly boasted about winning. But it also felt bad still knowing today's meeting was about me and that it could possibly involve the loss of the war.

"Okay. So what does it have to do with me?" I asked nervously.

"Well. Ya see. Since we lost the war. Your father and the king have been discussing on a way to hold back the wild from attacking us. But as they have been discussing that, the wild has already sent us a demand. A very… big demand," he said.

"What could they possibly want from us?" I asked. Or from me? The meeting today was about me if my sister or brother hadn't lied. Which wasn't all that comforting.

"They… requested a bride for one of their leaders," Darwin said filling me with pure fear as to what his next words were going to be. "And your father has decided to give them ya."

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**Well I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. Also. I want you to let me know whether you prefer the first person style of this one or the third person style of The Scourge Wars. I personally prefer this style better. Gives me more freedom on what to write. **

**Anyways. Criticism and reviews are appreciated as always. See you next time in Scourge Wars.**

_"Make the leap"_ \- Nice Guy Wolf


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about taking a while on these chapters. It's the end of the school year and surprisingly enough some of my teachers have cursed me with an absurd amount of work.**

**Don't worry. When summer hits, expect chapters to be more frequent as I plan on writing a lot more with my spare time.**

**But anyways. Here's chapter 3. Enjoy.**

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**Chapter 3**

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It felt like my heart had stopped pumping. Everything around me moved so slow as if the sudden realization that I was being forced to marry some leader from the wild could stop time. I truly didn't know how to react to what Darwin was saying. I knew I was bound to go through a forced marriage when I came to be of age. But this was not even close to what I expected. Not only was I still seventeen, but I was being forced into marriage with one of the leaders of the wild.

Which the more I thought about it, the less it seemed to scare me. Sometimes I've wondered what living in the country of the wild might be like. It would be a perfect freedom. Being able to live however I want wherever I want with no restrictions. To not be forced down a fixed path that was set for me since birth giving me no control over my life.

Of course, there was still the fear of having to be married to someone I barely knew and having to live in his home. It wouldn't be perfect freedom and I doubt I'd be able to run from them. But having to live with someone in the wild was ten times better than having to live with someone in this corrupted kingdom. There was also the bonus of leaving my family. I wouldn't have to face Mercy's death stare or Jameson's treatment or father's beatings ever again. I'd be free of expectations and demands.

Then the questions set in. Who would it be? What type of pokemon are they? Would he be nice? Would they take care of me? How old are they? That last question filled most of my mind with fear. This was one of the tribes' leaders. I didn't know how old a person needed to be to become a leader in the wild. But here the king had to be at least of age forty which meant I could be marrying an old man at the age of seventeen if the tradition was the same in the wild.

"Um. Angelica? You're blanking out again," Darwin asked tapping my head gently. I blinked and shook my head pulling myself back to reality. I tended to blank off when too many questions or thoughts filled my head. An annoying trait father said I adopted from my mother. But to me, I thought it was nice to be like my mother. It made me feel more attached to the person I never got to meet.

"Sorry. I'm just… nervous," I said wrapping my tail around my paws. Darwin eyed me suspiciously clearly wanting more than what I had just told him. "About the guy."

"Ah," he said, nodding as if he understood all of my worries just like that. "Though I cannot relate. I can understand why it troubles ya. Marrying someone ya've never met can be quite a scare. Or is. Will. Nevermind. But ya mustn't worry yourself too much about it. Trust me."

"How can I not worry?" I asked. "I have to marry someone I barely know who might be years older than me if the age requirement for being a leader over there is the same as it is here. I'm only seventeen..."

Darwin laughed loudly making me jump. He patted my head softly and said, "We are talking about the wild are we not? You'll soon find that the wild's laws haven't much thought or effort put into them. And do not be worried about the leader who ya will have to marry. The wild, even with their chaos and madness, know the boundaries. If ya does not like the leader they are having ya marry, he'll without question back off."

This time I eyed him suspiciously. For someone who lived in the Kingdom of Arceus where you're forbidden from talking or even thinking about the wild, Darwin knew an awful lot which raised more questions. As if I didn't have enough. "You talk about them as if you've lived with them," I said imagining Darwin living like a wild pokemon. Which now that it filled my mind, I quickly tried to erase the thought.

He grinned at me for a few seconds until my jaw fell. "Do ya really think I've lived in this kingdom all my life with the way I act? I promise ya if I was born and raised here I wouldn't act the way I do. No," he said looking up with a longing face, "I was born in the wild. I lived there long enough to learn the ways of the wild. To feel a special kind of freedom like no other. A paradise."

I'd always found Darwin to be different from everybody else. He was more open-minded and tended to forget the law from time to time. But it made so much more sense than the story of him growing up in the Kingdom of Arceus. And maybe it was why I found him to be more of a father than my biological one and more of a friend than anyone within the kingdom. But it still left me with a question.

"Why would you leave if it was so nice there? Surely nothing here could beat the wild," I asked.

He laughed again, but quieter. "It was great there. But I came here for a reason. In fact. I had to sneak in so the guards wouldn't kill me on sight. But that's beside the point. The reason I came here was to spy."

"To spy?!" I asked baffled.

"Aye. To spy. The wild might not care all that much about the problems outside of their territory. But when those problems start affecting them, then they get cautious and tricky. Especially when they find one of their own inside their borders dead with a message. A message demanding that the wild bow down to the Kingdom of Arceus or face destruction. As a response, they sent me to breach and spy on this kingdom's future plans and attacks. I was only supposed to be here for a few months and then return. But… I found your father. A young little eevee with no home or name. I took him inside the house I was staying in to rest for a few nights until I could find a family that would take him. But I became attached to him and he didn't want to leave. So I ended up taking him in as my own. I sent a message back to the wild that I would not be returning. It was… difficult adjusting to this new life at first. It didn't feel anything like home. Nothing ever did. But that was something I had to live with. And I have," he finished with a smile on his face.

I wondered what Darwin saw in my dad. What he saw in a heartless man who didn't care about anything but himself. How could Darwin tolerate that kind of person without losing his mind? It was beyond me.

And now I wondered. Why would Darwin trust me with such crucial information? Why would he trust me enough to tell me he's a spy of the wild? I mean. Sure I wasn't going to tell anybody. But it still seemed like a huge risk to reveal that much to a seventeen-year-old girl who happens to be the princess of the Kingdom of Arceus.

"Why are you telling me all of this? Doesn't it seem like a huge risk?" I asked hoping to get a clear answer.

"It would be a huge risk if ya was anything like your family. But you're not. You're different. Ya can see the flaws within the kingdom. See the problems that have been building for centuries. Your family cannot see the error of their ways and instead hold firmly to tradition without questioning how and why it could be wrong. But ya see the world from a different perspective. Ya open your eyes to everything around ya because ya are curious. And although curiosity can be a curse, it can also be a blessing. A blessing that has allowed ya to see the world differently. I am indeed taking a risk by telling someone within the kingdom of my past. But I have no regrets and no fears because I am telling it to ya," he said, a serious expression covering his face.

I didn't know how to respond to his praise. It felt good to be the only person within the kingdom that got to know Darwin's past and at the same time, it also made me feel disconnected to the kingdom. I think that was the best part. The feeling of not belonging in this lifeless place. And maybe, just maybe, that meant I was more connected to the wild than anything.

"I-I… don't know what to say," I said looking down.

He smiled and said, "Happens to the best of us. Anyways. I think it's about time I get ya to that meeting before your father throws a fit."

Something that had completely escaped me was the time. And now that I looked up, I could tell Father was going to do much more than throw a fit. But maybe he wouldn't do anything too rash. Darwin did tell Jameson to inform Father that he was holding me back for a quick talk. And… if what Darwin said was true about father giving me to the wild, then what could Father do to me before I leave? I realized as I thought about it that father could probably come up with many different ideas on how to torture me before my leave.

Darwin must've noticed as he got close and said, "He can't touch ya anymore and even if he tried, I'll be there to stop him. Trust me." He waited for me to nod and then patted my head. "Alrighty then. Time to go," he said, turning around and walking towards a door that led inside the church. I followed close behind him, hoping to hide when we walked into the meeting.

As we got closer and closer to the meeting. I could hear the voices echoing through the hall and they were not happy conversations. As we got closer, I could make out just about everyone's voices with Jameson's being the loudest. And from what I could tell. He seemed to be the most unhappy out of all of them.

Jameson crazily enough never got angry. He seemed to have an insane tolerance that not even my father could top. And Father was known to be like a living statue. But there had been times when Jameson got angry and those times had to be the most frightening times I had ever had. It was like the wrath of God was being unleashed, or the wrath of the devil I should say. So hearing him shout and bark at the others was not a good sign.

But what was scarier than Jameson's anger was father's silence. If anyone's voice could be heard at the table, it was his. He was always talking during a family meeting. He felt it was his duty as the high priest to be the loudest and strongest voice at the table and he was. I knew my ears didn't fail me. I knew my father's voice all too well. But I couldn't hear him which sent chills down my spine.

I was even more uncomfortable as the room got quiet when Darwin and I walked in. All eyes were looking towards us. But I knew they were staring at me. I caught Jameson's gaze and I could see the fury in his eyes. He never looked angrier. Mercy was sitting next to him with similar hate. Besides them and across from them were members of my family that I never really knew or had gotten to talk to. And at the head of the table was a jolteon with a glare that could win the prize for most intense stare the world has ever seen.

Father, like Darwin, was built like a bodybuilder. Except father had agility on his side which made him nearly unstoppable. He could take someone down in a quick, fluid motion that most couldn't see if they didn't understand the level father was on. Despite his exceptional skill as a fighter, however, father never really enjoyed violence. He always tried to find another way around violence if he could which was ironic since he had declared war on the wild even though they hadn't done anything wrong.

Father never told me his name and I instead learned from it Darwin that it was Andrew. Father was known to have little to no emotion and never smiled. But that was after mother died. From what I heard, father always had a smile on when Mother was around which was a joke to the people in the kingdom. They would call mother the cure to father's statue-like state. But that was a joke they made before she died. No one ever made the joke again.

Whenever Father wasn't working, he was isolating himself from everybody. Even Jameson, Mercy, and Darwin got the silent treatment. He hated it when people came to him when he wasn't working and would bark them out in a brutal manner. When I asked Darwin about it, he would tell me that father always preferred to be alone when he was growing up. That was until he had met Mother in which he was always by her side. He never liked leaving her. And that was his downfall when she passed. Her death had only reinforced his isolation making him worse.

But as he continued to glare at me. I noticed something was different in his eyes. He didn't look like the emotionless father I knew every day of my life. He didn't look like the intense man that was the loudest and strongest voice of the table. Instead, he looked upset which was a first.

Even his voice seemed broken when he said, "Welcome Angelica. We have quite a lot to discuss."

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**This chapter is not actually as long as it looks. It's actually the shortest chapter I've wrote out of both of my stories. But the paragraphs are a lot bigger. So that makes up for the shortness.**

**Anyways. Criticism and reviews are always appreciated. See you next time my hidden friends.**

_"Make the leap"_ \- Nice Guy Wolf


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

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I wish I could've just disappeared into the shadows at that moment. Hide from all the stares and whispers that were making their way around the table. It was clear that everyone here had already been told about the Wild's demand which made me wonder. If I was going to be traveling to the Wild to marry some tribe leader, why did I still have to hide my true feelings about my family?

I quickly answered the question myself by shaking the thought from my head. There was no doubt I still had to. Father would be enraged and Jameson would become murderous. But we had lost the war which meant the Wild was stronger and we were at their mercy. And since I was being given to them, maybe I was under their protection. But that sense of relief was washed away just as fast as it had come. The Wild hadn't picked me specifically. It was Father who had picked me.

Which had also answered another question that had been picking at me for the last seventeen years even if I already knew the answer. Father never loved me. Not even once. If not that, then why would he give me away so easily? There was no other explanation for it. It was obvious not just to myself, but to everyone else. This was his solution to how to get rid of me. Offer me to the Wild after being given the demand. He might've lost the war, but he had secretly won another battle.

And yet, there was sadness in his eyes as he stared at me as if he was upset that I was being given up to the Wild. But that was such a silly thought. He never cared. Why would he? He was probably upset about losing the war or maybe losing someone he could hate and bash half the time.

"Why don't you two take a seat here," Father said while gesturing to two spots to his left. I followed closely behind Darwin as we made our way to the seats. I tried to avoid the glares Jameson and Mercy were giving me. They both seemed to share a similar rage. I didn't know why they were angry with me leaving. Well, I knew the reason why Jameson would be angry. But I didn't know why Mercy would be. We never got along to begin with. She had always considered me a burden instead of a sister. So she should be happy that I was leaving.

Darwin took the seat furthest from Father forcing me to sit to Father's left. I sat quietly as the room remained in awkward silence for several seconds. Some at the table attempted to speak in whispers, but they were quickly shot down by Father's glare. Even Jameson and Mercy remained quiet as Father stared at the table with an expression that seemed pained.

I turned to look at Darwin who was drinking a cup of wine. He noticed me looking at him and he placed the cup down. His eyes darted behind me and he gestured towards Father. I turned around to find him staring at me.

I gulped as he said, "By the way you look. I assume Darwin has already told you of what's to come."

"He did," I confirmed. Feeling the fire in my belly burning a bit stronger making me feel a little bold, I quickly followed with, "I should've guessed that I'd be your first choice to throw away."

I heard Darwin choke on his drink to my left. I froze in place feeling the instant regret after _feeling a little bold_. I turned my face away and found myself looking at Jameson's and Mercy's blank faces as if the life had been drained from them. Mercy silently spoke with her mouth and I was barely able to make out, "You're dead", which made me wish I hadn't. I also had managed to earn gasps from other members at the table.

"No. You were my last choice," Father said tapping the table lightly with one of his claws. It was a little shocking at first to hear that coming from him. But it was probably for the reason that he didn't want to stop hating me. He didn't love me.

"Probably because you wanted to keep me so you have someone to take your anger out on," I said bravely. Why should I be scared of him? Why should I give in and just be quiet? Everything was going to change. Might as well as get it all out now before I never got the chance to again. But then again, this was Father I was lashing out against. There were many reasons to be afraid.

Darwin nudged my shoulder. I turned to him shaking his head with caution in his eyes. I looked down and realized that it would probably be best just to be quiet. Just for these last few moments before I had to leave. I didn't know when I would have to leave. I just knew that it was going to be soon.

"It's alright dad," Father said snatching my attention again. "Let the girl speak her mind. She's earned the right to."

A deerling stood up to my left and said, "We should be more concerned about-"

"Silence!" Father said slamming his paw down on the table hard enough to crack it. "I did not ask for anyone else to speak! So you will remain silent unless I say you can talk!" Father took a few deep breaths before putting a straight and calm face back on. He looked at me again and said, "Now. Speak."

I knew all eyes were on me at that moment. I was the topic of the discussion, the one everyone was talking about. I wondered if citizens of the kingdom knew as well. The youngest daughter of the high priest to become a wife to a leader of the Wild. I would be the biggest shame of the kingdom. Everyone is going to hate me. They'll despise me. This was just Father's elaborate plan to direct the kingdom's hate onto me.

So why does he continue with this charade? Why does he desire to make a fool out of me? Anything I say won't mean anything to him. He's probably trying to get a kick out of it. Wait for me to express my feelings and then have a final laugh before finally getting rid of me.

If that's what he wanted, then he had another thing coming. I wasn't going to give him his wish. I was going to be the one asking the questions first. I wanted to be in charge at this moment. I wanted to find some way if any to hurt him emotionally or mentally. To give him a taste of his own medicine.

I reached deep down for that fire in my belly to burn again. To help me through the next few words as they left my mouth. "Since when did you care about what I thought?" I asked with courage. From the corner of my eye, I could see Jameson shaking his head. We both knew I was getting myself into something terrifying.

"Depends on what thoughts you're asking about," Father said. "I've never cared about what you thought of me as the high priest considering you won't end up on the same path as everyone else here. This is before you were chosen to be sent to the wild by the way. You were never one for religion even when you tried to represent yourself as if you were. So I could care less about what you think of me as a priest."

Part of me was surprised and then part of me wasn't. I wasn't as dedicated to God as much as Jameson and Mercy. It was clear that I wasn't fond of the religion for most. But it was still surprising to hear that father noticed considering he never paid attention to me.

"But," Father said noticing the hate in my eyes. "What you think of me as a father. That's something I care about deeply even if I failed the part for the last seventeen years you've been alive."

I felt anger quickly rise in me. He had never once shown a sign of love in his eyes for me. He had always hated me even when I managed to complete tasks he had assigned me. And now he has the nerve to dare say that he cares about how I think of him as a father?

"You never once cared about how I felt! There's not even a speck of love in your heart for me even when I tried to earn it!" I felt the tears fall from my eyes as I continued to state what I _thought_ of him as a farther. Any hope of holding back my feelings was gone. "You failed to be a father because you chose to be a cold and cruel man! It was something you could control and yet you didn't do anything about it because you were too dedicated to your religion and you couldn't accept that mom is gone!" Those last words came out before I could understand what I was now getting into.

"You don't know a damn thing about mom you little runt!" Mercy barked at me looking prepared to leap across the table and attack me. Jameson seemed to be sharing the same reaction next to her and I couldn't tell who I was more afraid of.

"Ya have no room to speak either Mercy considering you're only four years older than your younger sister," Darwin countered.

Mercy was on all fours now as she yelled, "Shut your mouth you old bastard! You don't understand a damn thing either!"

"That is enough!" Father roared. "Clearly you don't understand anything about your mother either seeing as how you've retained none of your mother's traits besides her features! I want you and Jameson out now!"

"What the hell did I do to anger you?!" Jameson said while Mercy stood stunned.

Father reached across the table and struck Jameson on the head fast enough to make me jump. Jameson leaped back holding his head where he had been struck. The Father I knew had come out now. "Leave. Now," Father said firmly. He looked murderous as he glared at Jameson who knew trying to talk back would be effortless.

Jameson stood up and followed Mercy out who was walking at a quick pace. Father then glanced at nearly everyone else at the table and said, "The rest of you can leave as well." No one bothered to try arguing with Father as they got up and walked out of the room. Now it was just me and Darwin left as Father sat quietly.

This was something entirely new to me. We were supposed to be having a meeting with the whole family and yet it was only Darwin, Father, and I. Even when we weren't having a full family meeting. Mercy, Jameson, or both would at least be there. But I guess I shouldn't have been entirely surprised. Father wasn't acting like himself at all today besides his outburst at Jameson.

But that still left me with the question as to why. I thought I had already answered the question myself and yet here I was doubting it. Father looked so sad when Darwin and I had walked in. He looked like he was genuinely upset about losing me. But I couldn't believe that. How could I? He had put me through so much in this blasted kingdom and now that I was being sent off to marry a leader of the Wild he suddenly cared. I can't believe it. It just wasn't possible.

"Do you want to know what your mother was actually like?" Father said abruptly. Any thoughts about marriage or my feelings were swept away as I replayed the words in my mind.

"What?" I said in almost a whisper.

"I said do you want to know what your mother was actually like?" he repeated looking at me.

I turned to Darwin who was looking down at the table with a sad look on his face. He turned to me and smiled faintly. "Ya should take up that offer my dear. It's not one that comes easy," he said downing his whole drink.

I nodded hesitantly and turned back towards Father. All my life I had wanted to know my mother. And since she was gone, my closest connection to her was family who had kept her past a secret from me. Even Darwin had kept my mother's personality a secret saying that it wasn't his job to tell me. But now Father was offering to tell me what my mother was like. Who that beautiful vaporeon in the picture was.

Father sighed and said, "You know you're not the only one who doesn't know what your mother was like. Not even Mercy or Jameson knows." This caught me by surprise. I knew I was left out on the truth about Mother. But I had never expected Mercy let alone Jameson to be left out too. "They're told the same thing when they ask about your mother. That she wanted you three to grow up strong and religious so you could lead the people of this kingdom. But that was never what she wanted. In fact. She was… never really religious at all," Father said.

"She wasn't?!" I asked shocked. It felt like my connection with Mother had grown stronger after hearing that come from Father. I had always expected her to be somewhat heavily religious. She was married to Father after all who was the high priest.

"Not even in the slightest," he said with a half of a smile on his face. "She _tried_ to represent herself as if she was religious. It was funny to see how hard she tried sometimes. It almost always looked forced. She never once believed in the Lord. I should've hated her for it. I should've tried to correct her. But I couldn't. I loved her too much," he said before looking at me. "And then she passed soon after giving birth to you. She left me to take care of three children. Two of which grew to have strong religious beliefs. But the other turned out to be more like her mother. A living reminder of the woman I lost. Do you know where I'm going with this Angelica?" he asked as water filled his eyes.

The world was slowing down again. Everything felt so cold around me. My longing to feel close to my mother had been cured. I was like her in so many ways without even knowing it. But that newfound knowledge had also drilled a new hole in my heart. Father had always tried to force me to bend to the religion of the kingdom. To do everything right and by the book. Only now I realized that it wasn't because he was the high priest and that I as his daughter was expected to become a religious leader as well. But because he saw Mother in me. He saw a reflection of the woman he loved. A curse. A burden.

"I have always been hard on you. That much is true. But not because of this religion and this kingdom. But because of your annoying resemblance to your mother," he said with tears falling from his face. "After all my other choices for who to send over to the Wild were denied. I thought that sending you to them would remove the scar your mother left behind after she passed. But now I realize that losing you is only making the wound deeper."

He reached over and placed a paw on my own. "Angelica. With what little time we have left before you're sent to the wild, I want to get to know you not as the high priest, but as your father. Please. Even if you still hate me. Just a little time getting to know you would suffice."

After all the years I had suffered. After everything I had gone through to make Father happy. This was his great excuse. He treated me badly because I was like Mother in more ways than one and now that he was losing me, he wanted to try to heal all the pain he had caused me by spending my last few days in the Kingdom of Arceus with him. This was the Lord's plan for me? Make me suffer for seventeen years under the critical watch of my family and in my final moments before I'd be forced to leave the place I had grown up to go marry someone I didn't even know, have my father confess it was all because I was like my mother. How much more did I have to suffer? What else did the _Lord_ have in store for me?

The fire in my belly burned with a rage I had never felt before. I didn't feel sympathetic for Father. I didn't even feel love towards him anymore. Any trace of a connection between me and my Father could only be found in blood now. I wasn't going to give him his last wish. I was going to pour salt onto his wound before I left. I was going to make him feel the same pain I had gone through ever since I was born. The only difference would be making sure it stuck with him for the rest of his life until death.

I tore my hand away quickly and stood up. I was going to force him to listen to what I had to say. That inferno in my belly ignited as the words flew out of my mouth with hate and rage embedded in them, "You don't deserve to know me! I have never known you as anything but the high priest! A cruel and heartless man who never had an inch of love for me! If you truly wanted to know me, you should've tried within the last seventeen years!"

Father was on his feet quickly with a similar rage in his eyes. He lifted his paw as if to strike me. But I stood my ground and said, "Go ahead! Prove it to the both of us!" He hesitated as he stared at me. As the words sank into him, I had more to say. More pain to cause. "I know what you want. You don't want to love or understand me. You think you want to love me as your child. But secretly you want to feel that same happiness you once had when Mother was still alive. You want to feel happiness again." His face looked blank as he continued to stare at me. I noticed his paw was slightly trembling. He was hurting. The words were causing pain. But now I didn't just want to deepen his wound. I wanted to brand him with a new scar in his heart. One that would ruin him for the rest of his life.

Darwin put a paw on my shoulder and said, "That's enough Angelica! You've made your point!" I shrugged him off as tears fell down my face. If Mother was listening, I was sorry for what she would have to hear me say to Father next.

"When I leave for the Wild. I'll remember you not as a father, but as the man who had his heart carved out by the devil himself the day he lost the only person he ever loved. And you will remember me not as a daughter who loves you, but as the girl who's glad she'll never have to see you again!" I yelled as loud as I could and ran out of the room while the tears fell from my eyes.

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**Criticism, advice, and reviews are appreciated. See you next time.**

_"Make the leap"_ \- Nice Guy Wolf


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

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Why was I crying? Why was I shedding tears for a father who never loved me? He put me through so much pain and now he was sending me away to marry a leader of the wild as a sign of peace. I was never going to see him again. That was supposed to be a good thing. It should feel like the freedom I have always wanted.

So why did it hurt so much? I had done what I've wanted to do for a long time. Make him feel pain. Hurt him in a way that can't be healed. And yet it felt so wrong. I was going to be free of this horrible religion and free of this godforsaken kingdom. But I felt like I was losing everything else in the process. Why? Did I care for a family that never loved me?

I called out with a cry to the sky as I ran outside of the church, "Mother! I need your help mother! Please!" I fell to the ground and curled up crying. Everything hurt. My body ached while I cried on the ground. The world was a blur from all the water in my eyes and my sense of smell had been blocked. I was a mess. "Mother!" I screamed again hoping, waiting for an answer. God had abandoned me. He left me here on the ground broken as I continued to lose myself in my emotions.

I saw two spots of black and blue approach me through the blur of the wild. It only took me a few seconds to realize that it was Jameson and Mercy. Couldn't they just leave me alone for a day?

They only made the pain worse. That's all they ever did. I wish I was stronger than them. I wish I could hurt them. But I would never be able to. Even if I tried, both of them have and always will be stronger than me. I was weak and worthless. Nothing but a joke to anyone who laid eyes on me.

"What's wrong with you?" Mercy asked as she put a paw on my shoulder. Her touch felt haunting. It felt cruel and horrible. I hated her. I hated her for everything that she was. She was a monster who did not work for the lord, but the devil.

I smacked her paw off of me and shouted, "Get the hell off of me!"

I felt her paw grab me by the ear and lift me off the ground painfully. I screamed as she said, "What the fuck did you say to me?!"

"I said get the hell off of me!" I repeated as I reached up with my maw and bit her leg. She yelped as she dropped me and fell back.

I lifted myself off the ground and began to run again. I wanted to escape it all. I wanted to run away from everything. To leave it all behind. But I couldn't leave mother. I needed to go to my room first. I needed to grab her first before I left.

Any hope of trying to reach the room was ripped away as a cold body tackled me to the ground hard. Fear spread through me from the realization that Jameson was the one who tackled me. Before I got the chance to scream, he slammed his paw into my stomach hard. The air was forced out of my lungs as he continued to punch me again and again with each hit becoming stronger and faster. I couldn't scream in pain. I couldn't yell for help. I was suffocating.

I saw Mercy approach me quickly with rage in her eyes. She slammed my head against the ground hard with one of her paws and used the other one to cut deep into the flesh on the left side of my face. There was nothing I could do. Both Jameson and Mercy were beating me to near death. No. There _were_ beating me to death. I couldn't breathe as the agony from Jameson's hits forbade me from getting any air back into my lungs. Mercy kept slamming my head against the ground causing the world to twist and turn red. They were going to kill me. My life was going to end by my siblings' paws.

Suddenly, both Jameson and Mercy had gotten off of me quickly allowing me to breathe again. I swallowed the sweet air down into my lungs and coughed hoarsely. I looked behind me to see why Jameson and Mercy had stopped beating me. Darwin was striking them both hard with a fury I had never seen before. His attacks were so swift, his legs were a blur as they moved back and forth.

As the coughing stopped, I was finally able to scream in pain. My stomach felt like a large rock was crushing it and my head felt like a loud drum was being struck. The tears came back to my eyes as I curled up and held my belly. I could smell the blood from the deep cut on my face that Mercy had given me. There was no doubt I would get a scar that would be extremely visible and I was going to have trouble eating for a few days as well from the bruise that was going to form on my belly.

I saw Darwin lift both Jameson and Mercy by the ear and drag them over to me. He slammed both of their heads against the ground and made them face me. "Look at what ya did to your younger sister! Your sister who hasn't even become an adult yet! Ya both knew she stood no chance against one of ya! And both of ya was beating her!" he said lifting them and slamming them into the ground again.

"Do ya not realize that ya was killing her?! Do ya not understand that ya was going to kill your little sister?! Listen carefully ya two! Ya will not lay a paw on her for the rest of the time she is here or I'll make sure ya never walk again! Do ya understand?!" he said waiting for a response. Both Jameson and Mercy nodded quickly. Darwin pushed their heads into the ground more making them whine in pain. "I said do ya understand?!" he asked again.

"We understand!" Jameson and Mercy said in unison. Jameson had a torn nose and was bleeding from the top of his head and the right side of Mercy's face looked badly bruised.

"Now apologize to your sister not just for the pain ya've caused her now, but for all the pain ya have caused her in the past! It'll be the last words ya say to her so make 'em count!" he said lifting Mercy first.

She wasted no time as she said, "I'm sorry I've caused you so much pain Angelica and I'm sorry I've insulted you every day!"

"What else?!" Darwin asked. Mercy looked confused. Her mouth kept opening and closing until Darwin slammed her head again and said, "Say you're sorry for not being a better big sister! Apologize for being a horrible role model for her!"

"I'm sorry for not being a better big sister and a better role model!" Mercy said before Darwin slammed her head into the ground while lifting Jameson's up.

"Now ya apologize Jameson and ya better apologize correctly or by god I will make ya wish ya was dead!" Darwin said holding Jameson up.

I saw the cold anger in his eyes as he stared at me. For a moment I thought he wasn't going to apologize until he hesitantly said, "I'm sorry for not being a better brother and for causing you all the pain your life!" He looked annoyed as Darwin continued to hold him up. "I apologized to her! What more do you want!"

"I want ya to apologize for stealing the innocence that every child has until they have grown up away from her!" Darwin said. Jameson looked just as shocked as I did from hearing those words come out of Darwin's mouth.

Mercy was greatly confused as she looked between both Jameson and I. "What does that mean?" she asked looking at me. After getting no response, she looked at Jameson instead and asked, "Jameson, what does Darwin mean?"

"I'm waiting," Darwin said. I felt cold again. Jameson's icy stare was inescapable. But even though it was terrifying. For once in my life, I saw fear in his eyes. No one had ever known our secret and nothing had ever scared Jameson. But now he was frightened as the cruel truth was revealed.

"I-I'm…" he said before closing his mouth. He was trembling now. I felt both sympathetic and unsympathetic as he struggled to admit to what he had been doing to me. "I'm s-sorry for… for… stealing your innocence."

"Be more specific!" Darwin said slamming Jameson's head against the ground again.

"I'm sorry for screwing you!" he shouted. Mercy looked like she had been turned into a statue. I felt embarrassment flood both sides of my face. Mercy knew now. She knew the dark secret between me and Jameson. The cruel reality that had taken place for years. But as much as that was embarrassing. I wondered how Darwin knew about it and for how long?

Darwin threw both Jameson and Mercy behind him. They hit the ground hard and groaned as they attempted to get up. "Now both of ya listen. Ya will not tell your father about what ya have done Jameson. He's broken enough. Hearing that his youngest was raped by his eldest will make him want to kill himself. So ya will keep quiet for now," he said staring at Jameson intensely. "But don't think ya've escaped punishment boy. After your father recovers, he will hear of this," Darwin warned. "Now get out of my sight. The both of ya." Jameson and Mercy got up and walked away slowly and painfully. I noticed that Mercy was keeping her distance from Jameson now which made me want to smile. But I was in too much pain to move most of my body.

Darwin turned around and sat down next to me. He lifted my head slowly and checked it. He turned it a few times and put it back down gently. "Thankfully your head doesn't have any major injuries done to it," he said before looking at my stomach. He lifted my forelegs out of the way and growled unhappily before saying, "Damn that boy."

"I-is it bad?" I asked nervously. It wasn't the bruise that scared me. It was the fear of broken ribs. I had gotten many beatings in my life before. But it only ever involved bruises, sores, or bad headaches. Never a broken bone.

"I don't know yet. You'll have a bruise for a good while. But I don't know if there's anything worse." He looked at me and said, "Listen to me, Angelica. I want to do a quick check on your ribs to determine if any of 'em are broken. It's… going to hurt. A lot. I need ya to look away and to think of something that makes ya happy. Do ya understand?"

"Yeah…" I said against my better judgment. What I wanted to say was no. My belly hurt so much and adding more pressure to it would be so much worse. But I knew it had to be done just to be certain of any major injuries.

I turned away and closed my eyes. I searched for a happy thought in my head to try and ignore the pain. But as I continued to look, I realized I couldn't find a happy thought. I couldn't find a memory that made me happy. The horrible truth made the pain that much worse as Darwin pressed his paw on my stomach.

I covered my maw with my paws to muffle the screams that were trying to escape. Tears rolled down my face as his paw pushed in multiple places on my stomach. The pain was much worse than any beating Father had ever given me. Jameson had always beaten me harder than Father. But never this badly. I felt like I was going to suffocate in pain from the speed and force of his punches.

After Darwin lifted his paw off my stomach for the last time, he said, "Good news is there are no broken bones. The bad news is the bruise you're going to have is going to hurt pretty badly for a good couple of days." He stood up and offered a paw to me. "I want ya to get on my back. I'm going to carry ya back to your room."

I didn't want to move from the ground. It felt good to just lie there. To just avoid having to move. I wonder if that was what death felt like. Being lifeless on the ground awaiting the angels to take me away. If felt so inviting. It would be so easy. All I had to was jump. I would have a freedom unlike any other. The freedom I have always wanted. I would get to see Mother. I would be able to walk with her amongst the heavens. Surprisingly enough, death didn't scare me anymore.

"Angelica. Take my paw sweetheart. Ya need to rest," Darwin said looking me in the eyes. I hesitated as I grabbed his paw. He helped me up painfully and leaned his body down to allow me to get on. He stood up slowly as I wrapped my paws around his neck. The bones on his back poked into my belly making me wince. I wish Darwin had become a different pokemon at that moment, preferably one with a softer back. But I tried to ignore the pain as he walked quickly through the door Jameson and I had walked out of.

As he walked down the hall towards my room, I began to relive everything that had happened to me in this kingdom. All the pain my family had caused me, all the religious beliefs that were forced upon me, all the times I had been harassed in the worst ways. I never once had a happy moment in my life that left me with hope for the future. It came to my attention that there was one thing that I had always looked forward to. One thing that made me happy.

Darwin reached my room and opened the door. I stared at my bed as Darwin walked towards it. The sheets that kept me warm every night. The pillow that offered me its comfort from the long, grueling days. And the sleep that came with it all. The only time I ever felt free. The several hours of peace it granted me even if I had to deal with the nightmares half the time.

Darwin put me on the bed and pulled the sheets over me. He took a small handkerchief off of the desk next to my bed and patted the spot where Mercy had cut me. He continued to pat the cut until he looked certain enough that the blood would stop coming out. After he put the handkerchief back on the desk, he leaned down and kissed me on the cut. "Get some rest, Angelica. I'm going to go get some medicine to help with the cut and the bruises. I'll try not to be long." He smiled at me before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Now I was alone in my room. Everything was so quiet. I grabbed the stuffed vaporeon from the side of my bed and held it against my chest. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. My life had always been full of pain and hate. Sleep was the only thing that granted me peace even if it only lasted for a couple of hours. As I started to drift into sleep, I thought of one thing. If sleep was the only thing that granted me peace, why not stay asleep forever? Leave the world behind for another world of dreams and tranquility.

_You don't scare me anymore._

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**Criticism and reviews are appreciated. See you next time.**

_"Make the leap"_ \- Nice Guy Wolf


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

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The sky flashed with lightning and roared with thunder as it continued to unleash a downpour onto me. The drops of rain were heavy as they sunk into my fur and the night encased me in an inescapable cage of darkness. The iron collar around my neck chained me to a tree that forbade me from running inside and away from the nightmare.

I shivered from both the cold and the fear. The water dripping down my face was a mixture of tears and rain and my cries were muffled by the crackling of the clouds. I held myself tightly as the storm continued to rage on through the night.

Everyone had already hidden from the chaos. They had taken shelter inside their homes where they relaxed in their family's comforts. Most were probably sleeping through the storm while others would be laying by the fireplace covered by a soft blanket that kept them warm. Even the poor would find refuge in public churches. But I, the daughter of the high priest and princess of the Kingdom of Arceus, was trapped in the storm.

I had slept through one of Father's meetings without realizing it until he had woken me up. I had never seen a greater rage in the world. His fury was defined by the way he struck and swore at me. He locked me in my room for the rest of the day without any food and promised me that I would be given a more severe punishment later. As the day passed and night came, a storm brewed in the skies. Father saw that as the perfect punishment, a way to _fix_ my sleep schedule.

He forced me out of my room and outside where he attached an iron collar to my neck and chained me to a tree as punishment. He told me he would come back for me in the morning. I begged to be brought back inside, to be safe from the storm. But he walked away from me without saying a word. He left me alone to wait for the storm.

I cried through the darkness hoping for someone to come. I hoped that Darwin would save me. That he would find me and break the chain so I could go inside where it was warm and safe. But he never answered. He was nowhere to be found. Maids and servants passed by here and there and I begged for them to help me. They all ignored my cries for help and walked by as if I wasn't there. Some of them looked at me only for a second or two before turning away quickly.

Another bolt of lightning lit the sky and crashed into the Earth making me jump. The flash of light alongside the cold rain forced a sneeze out of me. I trembled as I sneezed multiple times before covering my face with my paws. I closed my eyes to hide from the storm, but I only found more darkness underneath. There was nowhere to hide.

Everyone was against me, even the Lord himself. He conjured the storm the same day I was given a beating and a punishment with more to come. Why was he doing this to me? What did he want from me? I tried to do everything right. I tried to force myself through the lessons of my religion to appease my Father even if I hated them. I tried to earn his love and he ignored me. Every time I did something right, he would give me something else to do and send me on my way without acknowledgment or a smile. If I did something wrong, the whole world would come crashing down from his anger. Why did I deserve this?

Another flash ran through the sky as a bolt of lightning struck something far away. A few seconds later, a loud boom sounded from the clouds making me cry even more. "HELP!" I cried out to the darkness. "PLEASE!" No one heard me over me the mixture of rain and thunder. No one ever came to save me.

I curled into myself as I wept. I had been abandoned again. Forgotten by everyone. Darwin was nowhere to be found, my family was sleeping the night away in peace, and the Lord was unleashing the wrath of heaven and hell upon me. I saw the moon through a tiny hole in the clouds. It was in the middle of the sky. It was still midnight. I still had hours to go before it would be daytime. Before I could be free of the madness. But would I be free? Father would most likely put me through another hard day of lessons and work without rest. There was no such thing as freedom in this kingdom. No such thing as hope.

Someone was gently tapping on my shoulder. The nightmare faded from my head as I began to open my eyes. The light-filled the room with a dim glow. Everything was blurry for a second until I blinked a few times. My eyes were full of tears that were rolling down my face onto the pillow like a small waterfall. I rubbed the tears away and looked to see who was tapping my shoulder. Darwin stood in front of me with a large brown bag wrapped around his back.

He looked concerned as he asked, "Which nightmare was it this time?"

I didn't want to tell him it was the memory of the storm. Darwin wasn't near the castle during the storm. He said he was helping a friend out with something and that when the storm hit, he took shelter within his friend's house for the night. He always blamed himself for not marching his way back to the castle in the storm to save her. Every time it's brought up, I try to tell him there was no way he could've known. But he'll counter with he should've known. After that, I result in the fact that he had given Father a brutal whooping for locking me outside in the storm. He thinks, however, that the ass-whooping should've been harsher. It always ended with him sulking and apologizing for something he had no control over.

I went with the most blatant and common excuse to use on a concerned family member, "I'm fine."

Darwin frowned and pointed at my pillow. "That tells me that you're not fine. So do ya want to tell me which one it was?"

"Not really," I said snuggling the stuffed vaporeon in my forelegs. He clearly wanted a different answer. But I was still reluctant to start another argument about why he was not to blame for not being in the castle the night of the storm. So I hoped that he would just leave it at that.

He let out a long sigh before saying, "Alright. If ya don't want to talk about it now, I can understand. But I'm hoping we can talk about it later, especially with how few days ya have left in this kingdom."

I was grateful that he had dropped the nightmare issue, but it had cost me by reminding me that I was still leaving the Kingdom of Celindrous to go marry a leader of the Wild. I didn't even know how many days I had left. The only thing I had been told was I would be leaving sometime within the week. I didn't know when though and now the question lingered in my head. I wanted to ask Darwin, but I was afraid of what the answer would be.

Maybe I didn't need to know or care. Part of me had already decided to sleep forever. I wouldn't have to marry someone I didn't know. I wouldn't have to live an entirely new life with so many new variables. Then again, living a new life in a country that had been called uncontrolled and uncivilized didn't sound all that bad. It would be the escape I have always wanted. But the cost was too great. The love I have desired for the last few years would be sacrificed for freedom. I would have to put my life in the hands of one of the leaders of the Wild.

Father had always called the people of the Wild savages, but he saw their leaders as so much worse. He would refer to them as demons, beasts who had committed all seven of the deadly sins. He condemned them as madmen and professed believers in the devil. I had never believed Father that much. Now more than ever after hearing what Mother was actually like. The more I thought about it, the more it gave me confidence in trying to live in the Wild.

Father had a strong hate for the Wild, however. It never crossed my mind that he would lie about something he feels so passionate about. Especially when it came to the war for faith. These crusades had driven my Father mad with anger. He wanted nothing more than to wipe them off the face of the Earth. Fortunately for him, he was the high priest which gave him more power than the king himself.

I cleared the thoughts away from my head. All of it revolves around my decision of choosing whether to give up my life to a leader of the Wild or to death. I only had so many days to decide and I didn't know which path I wanted. I needed advice which would be difficult to get considering I would be asking about whether to die or not. Darwin was the only person I could look to, but how would I explain it to him? How would I ask him if death was better than life or vice versa?

I decided it would be best to start with the simple question of how much time I had left in the Kingdom of Arceus. "How many days do I have until they send me off to the Wild?" I asked looking at Darwin. He had opened the bag on his back and was removing the contents within it. He placed a small bag of sitrus berries alongside a bottle filled with a gooey substance and bandages on the nightstand next to my bed.

"Don't worry yourself about such a thing right now my dear," he said as he pulled some berries out of the bag. He held them out to me and said, "Eat these. It'll make ya feel better."

I took the berries and scarfed them down quickly. The pain in my belly calmed to a subtle sore while the headache I had faded away. The berries alone had eased the pain in my body which made me question if it was sitrus berries that had made me feel better or if the berries were a mixture that just looked like sitrus berries.

I realized I was drifting away from the matter at hand. I ate the last of the berries and said, "It's one of the only things I can worry about right now grampa. Please. I need to know."

He poured a tiny portion of the gooey substance onto his paw and reached up to my face where he rubbed it on the cut Mercy had given me. It stung as it sunk into the scar making me wince. He continued to rub it until he was satisfied and reached into his bag to grab a small towel which he used to clean his paws. He reached for the bandage as he said, "The Wild wants ya there within the next five days. The trip to reach their borders will take a little more than a day. From there, they plan on picking ya up and escorting ya to your new home which they say should only take a couple of hours. Run the numbers and ya've got three days left."

"Only three days…" I repeated after him. The number was short, but it felt so long. I had three days to decide if it was worth living or not. Those three days would probably drive me down the lane of insanity. So much could happen within three days. I still had to live with my family for three more days. It gave them so much time to do all the cruel things they ever wanted to do. I hoped for my sake that Darwin's threat to my siblings holds up long enough for me to make my decision.

He opened the bandage and placed it flat against the cut on my face. That was also something that scared me. My face would be scarred by my sister's wrath. A mark that would tell everyone that I was weak.

"There ya go. That should do ya for a while. I'll have to come back again tomorrow to change it out. But that'll last ya," he said smiling. He pointed to my stomach and said, "Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about this besides giving ya some more berries to help with the pain."

"It's fine. Thank you," I said resting my head a bit more. If there was a time to ask for advice on my dilemma, now was it. But it felt so hard to ask it. How was I going to ask it? How was I going to explain it? What would be his response? Would he think little of me for choosing death over life? I decided to trust my gut on this one and just say it as best as I could. "Grampa. Can I ask you an important question?" I asked apprehensively.

He looked at me and flashed a big smile and said, "Why of course ya can. Just depends if I like the question or not." I felt my confidence falter as he said those words. But I couldn't stop now. I just had to get it out and over with.

I stuttered as the next words left my mouth, "I-Is it alright to feel… uncertain about life?" The room was left in awkward silence. I couldn't understand what he was thinking. His expression was blank. But a few seconds later it became one of confusion.

"Hmm. That's a vague question. I need ya to elaborate a little more on what you're asking," he said. Suddenly, one question became another that needed more detail. Could it get any harder?

"Like. I've been feeling kind of… horrible lately and I'm starting to think… to think that maybe…" I trailed off getting quieter each time. The words that I wanted to say wouldn't follow and I felt embarrassed.

"That maybe life isn't worth living," he said staring at me. His gaze felt like he was staring right into my mind. But even as he stared at me, he didn't look as concerned as I thought he would and I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

"Y-yeah," I nearly whispered. I hugged the stuffed vaporeon closer to my chest. I felt so uncomfortable being in his presence. Darwin was always the nice, encouraging old man who told you great stories and plenty of life lessons. So waiting for a response that had to do with my own life frightened me.

He relaxed his body and took a deep breath. He stood there for a few seconds thinking to himself before he said, "Life can break us in many places. Some people more than others. When I was around your age, I didn't have any family that I knew. I lived on the street where I had to beg for something to eat or drink. I had to sleep alone outside where the weather could get to me and I was always dirty and weak. It was the darkest moment of my life and on many occasions, I would ask myself if I wanted to take the easy way out."

He sighed and said, "But even in those dark moments ya have to look past what was and what is and instead look to what can be. The past can't be changed and the present happens to fast. But the future. Now that's yours to control. Let me tell ya, my dear. At one point I was tired of the pain and suffering and I took hold of life and I said enough is enough. I didn't want to live like that anymore. I wanted to live a better life. One where I was happy. So I put in the time and effort and worked my arse off to create a future that I liked. It might've taken a while, but nothing ever comes easy."

He smiled at me again and said, "My point is: There is nothing wrong about hating life and feeling down. We all hit that point in our lives eventually. And when we do, we have to count our losses and pick ourselves up. In your case my dear. I say wait to see what happens. This is a change that'll affect your life greatly. Who knows? Ya may like what's to come. And then again ya may not. It depends on what ya see it as. Another impenetrable wall, or a fork in the road with opportunity calling out to ya from both sides."

There it was. Darwin's way of making me smile. He was always good at boosting my spirit even when I didn't want it to be boosted. Sometimes I felt like he was the only good thing that came out of the Kingdom of Arceus. Even then, he wasn't born in this kingdom. He was born in the Wild. I wondered if most people in the Wild were like him. I sure hoped so.

"I hope that was the answer ya was looking for," he said scratching his chin. It was in a way. He had given me more than I had asked for and his speech had swayed me to at least give the Wild a try.

"It works. Thanks again, grampa," I said while giving the best smile I could. Even if I did feel a little warmer at that moment. There was still one more question I had to ask. One that I was more afraid to ask than the previous one. "Um. Grampa?" I mumbled.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he responded.

I took a deep breath as I asked, "H-how did you know about… that thing with Jameson?"

Darwin's attitude shifted drastically. I could see it from head to toe. His face had become angry and he looked ready to kill something. Part of me was hoping that something would be Jameson.

"I didn't find out about it until a maid had told me she had seen it," Darwin said before swearing underneath his breath. "I had been meaning to talk to ya about it, but your dad was holding the meeting about sending ya over to the Wild. So I decided it would be best to wait until after the meeting was over."

"S-someone saw it?" I asked trying to control my body from trembling so much. Now I was greatly concerned about which maid had seen it. Someone else knew about it and who knows who else they could've told. Darwin may not have been the first to have been told and even if he was, he may not have been the last.

"Don't worry my dear. I told the maid to keep quiet about it. They won't tell anyone about this," he assured. But I was still taken by fear.

"Are you sure?" I said as I pulled the stuffed vaporeon up to my face. If the maid had told anyone else. That person could've told more people and eventually more people would find out about it until the whole kingdom knew. At that point, I would just end my life from sheer shame.

"Of course I am. I made her swear on it and warned her if anyone else talked about it, she would be the first I'd seek out. But now I need information," Darwin said looking at me with a serious expression. "As much as ya might not want to talk about it. I need to know the severity of the abuse even if it may make ya uncomfortable."

I covered my face with the stuffed vaporeon to hide the flare in my cheeks. All I wanted to know was how he had known about it in the first place. Now he was questioning me about the severity of it all. He needed details that I wasn't ready to share. Even if I have always wanted the abuse to stop. I didn't know how to explain it to somebody. Especially with Jameson's threats about what would happen if anyone found out.

"Angelica my dear," Darwin said placing a paw on my head. "I cannot begin to understand what ya have gone through and I'm sorry I have been blind to your pain. But now that I know ya have been going through something no child should have to go through, I will try to do everything within my power to see that justice is done. Which is why I need to know the extent of the crime."

"He'll find out. He'll-"

Darwin leaned into and pulled me into a hug. I buried my face in his chest as the tears began to fall out. "He can't hurt ya anymore. I won't let him and your dad won't either when he hears about this. I promise he will face the music when the time comes. Ya just need to trust me," he said kissing me on the head. "I want to address this now before ya have to leave. So let's start easy. How many times has he done this to ya?"

I was hesitant on answering that question especially since I had lost count of how many times he had done it. But he was right. Now that he knew three days before my departure, it was the only chance I was going to get to make Jameson pay. "I-I've lost count," I said with a shaky voice.

He growled with annoyance and asked, "For how long has it been going on?"

"For a couple of years. Somewhere around three," I said trying to remove the memory of the first time Jameson had walked into my room. It was the most terrifying night of my life. The night I had discovered a monster within the kingdom.

"When I get the chance I'm going to kill that brat," Darwin murmured. He started rubbing my back gently making me feel a little more relaxed as I waited for him to ask the next question. "Alright, Angelica. This next question is going to be a little difficult to answer. But I need to know. Did he ever finish inside of ya?"

I'm glad that he couldn't see what my face looked like. Jameson had always been rough and harsh. But he was careful with what he did. He didn't want anyone to find out and made sure no maid or servant could happen upon a wet spot in the sheats of my bed.

"No," I answered. This conversation was getting more and more uncomfortable the longer it went on and the more questions he asked. I wasn't sure if I could take it anymore. "G-grampa. Could we maybe talk more about this tomorrow? It's getting really difficult answering these questions," I asked.

He sighed as he patted my back. "Yeah. We can talk more about it tomorrow. I'll need to know as much as possible though when tomorrow comes," he said. I was already dreading the next time we would have to talk about it again. "But for right now, since we've decided to stop talking about that. I think it's time we address ya and your dad," he said pulling out of the hug.

I pulled the vaporeon close to me again. I didn't have anything to talk about that had to do with Father. I had already gotten to say what I wanted to and I wasn't taking any of it back. He deserved every harsh word that came from my mouth for everything that he had put me through.

"What about Father?" I asked hoping that Darwin wasn't going to make me apologize for what I had said.

He sat up straight and said, "Ya know ya made him pretty upset back there. He really did want to try and get to know ya. It's his final wish before losing his youngest."

"Well, maybe he should've tried before," I retaliated.

"At least he's trying now," Darwin said raising his voice. "I agree with ya Angelica that he hasn't been a good dad or good anything to ya for that matter. But now that you're bound for the wild, now that he's losing someone very important to him. He wants to try to get to know that someone with what little time he has left. To know a daughter he never got to know."

I never liked getting angry at Darwin. But how could he be siding with Father on this one? Father had done so many horrible things to me in the past, but this was the worst of them all. He was giving me away to the wild which clearly showed he didn't care for me. So why was Darwin saying that Father did care?

"He's losing someone very important because he decided to give that _someone_ away to the Wild. He doesn't care about me if he's choosing to hand me away," I barked at the old houndoom. I pulled the blankets over me and laid my head down on my pillow.

Darwin sighed and asked, "Angelica. Do ya not remember when he said ya was his last choice?"

"That means nothing," I said into the pillow which muffled my voice.

"It means more than ya think," Darwin said. "Do ya know that ya was not on the list?"

"I wasn't?" I asked peeking out from underneath the covers. I tried thinking of the reason Father wouldn't put me on the list. There had to be a malicious reason behind it. But I couldn't think of anything.

Darwin shook his head and said, "Your dad put every female who was family to him on that list, even Mercy. But not ya. Do ya know why?"

Now I was confused. Mercy was always a good child in Father's eyes. She always obeyed orders when given, held strong beliefs in God, and controlled the townspeople when they got out of order. She did everything by the book. So why would Father put her on the list and not me? It had my head spinning in circles.

"It's because he doesn't want to lose ya," Darwin said smiling at me. I felt anger boil in me. Nothing Darwin was saying was making any sense. Father was already losing me to the Wild because he _had_ given me away. Even if I wasn't on the list. I was still chosen to be sent over.

"But he's still giving me away! Even if I wasn't on the list, I was still chosen to be sent over!" I yelled nearly lifting myself out of bed.

"Because he's realized he's not losing ya by sending ya to the wild, but by keeping ya here!" Darwin shouted back. He looked exhausted as he took a step back. But my mind wasn't thinking about him at that moment. It was thinking about what he had said. What the meaning behind it was.

"Listen, Angelica," Darwin said leaning in. "He's noticed it as much as I have. Ya don't enjoy it here. Ya've hated this kingdom all your life and he's beginning to understand that by keeping ya here, it's only making ya worse. He's not afraid of not getting to see ya again, he's afraid of your heart becoming permanently damaged. We both know he hates the Wild with a burning passion, but he knows they aren't religious. He knows they have more freedom than ya do right now. He knows they don't follow a strict set of laws like this kingdom does. He believes that ya is more fit for the Wild even if he hates the idea."

It didn't make sense. None of it made sense. Father knew I was being given to a leader of the Wild. He called their leaders demons. He said they were the worst of the worst. Isn't he afraid of that? He had even said to me that he was sending me over to remove to try and remove the scar Mother had left behind. So why was Darwin saying otherwise?

Then it hit me. For the seventeen years I have lived in this kingdom, he had always lied about Mother. He always said that she was a heavily religious person. But during the meeting, he had told me that she wasn't religious at all even when she tried to act like it. What if that wasn't the only lie he was telling? What if he lied about their leaders? What if he was lying about his reason to send me away? How many more lies was he telling?

Darwin stretched as he yawned. The old age in him was coming out now. He looked tired as he slouched down. "It's all so very complicated my dear. Your dad has made a real mess of things and it's caught up with him. He's probably sitting in his room right now angry and sad that he won't get to see ya one last time before ya leave," Darwin said. "At least try and surprise him, Angelica. I promise if ya give him a chance, not only will ya get answers, but you'll be happy that ya did get to know him a bit more as a dad."

As much as I didn't want to, the only way I was going to get answers was by talking to him directly. And even if I didn't want to believe it, maybe I would be happier if I got to know Father a little more before I left. Lord I hoped so.

Darwin stood up and pulled another small plastic bag of sitrus berries out of the large brown bag and placed it on the nightstand. "Well. I would love to stay. Buuuut," Darwin said as he yawned again. "Old age has given me a call and its begging for a nap. So that's what I'm gonna do."

Darwin pointed to the berries and said, "Eat more of those when the pain begins to come back. By the time you're out of those, you'll just be a little sore." Darwin walked towards the door and pulled it open. He stepped outside and before closing it behind him, he turned to me and said, "Give your old man a shot will ya, Angelica. You'll be happy that ya did." With that, Darwin had closed the door and left me in the room alone with plenty to think about.

* * *

**Sorry about the delay. This chapter came out a little longer this time.**

**Criticism and reviews are appreciated. See you next time on my birthday!**

_"Make the leap"_ \- Nice Guy Wolf


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

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Too many thoughts were running through my head at the moment. I had only three days left before I would have to make my trip to the Wild and within those three days, I had a very big choice to make. Give Father one last chance to make things right or not risk it at all. Either way was going down in flames. If Father proved that he could be a father, then it would only make me feel worse about having to leave so soon. But if he didn't prove that he could be a good father, then everything Darwin had told me wouldn't have mattered and I would probably just embarrass myself.

I looked at the stuffed vaporeon between my arms. What would Mother want me to do? Surely she had to understand my dilemma. She should know just as well as I do that Father was never a good father. But she also understood Father in ways no one else could, not even his own children. So maybe she would say the same thing as Darwin. Give him a shot, it might be worthwhile.

"What do you think I should do Mother?" I whispered to the stuffed vaporeon. I knew I wasn't going to get an answer no matter how much I wanted one. I just needed someone to talk to, even if that someone couldn't talk back to me.

I stared at the stuffed vaporeon for a minute before finally coming to a decision. I was going to risk it. I didn't have much to lose by talking to Father, so maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I thought. But nothing ever was as bad as I thought which had been proven to be wrong countless times.

I lifted myself out of bed and almost fell face-first to the ground. I had forgotten that I had been given a pretty brutal beating and even though I was treated, I was still recovering. I slowly stood up off the ground and waited to move until I was stable enough. It had only just hit me that I would be walking to Father in a horrible condition. I wondered how he would react to seeing me like this? Even when I was injured, he still seemed to show no emotion most of the time. So I wasn't expecting him to freak out.

I pulled the covers of my bed back over the stuffed vaporeon and ate a few more berries to calm the pain down a tad bit more. I looked at my closed door and hesitated. Half of me was yelling get back in bed and wait out the three days while the other half was begging me to open the door and walk to Father's room. Darwin wouldn't be there to support me if something went wrong. No one would be. It was going to be just me and him.

In the end, I knew I was going to eventually talk to him. So why delay? I walked towards the doorway tripping a little here and there. I opened the door slowly and walked out into the hall. As I did, someone bumped into me making both of us stumble back. I looked to see who it was and found a deerling staring back at me. She was only a little bit shorter than me considering my flareon form was still growing. She looked to be about the right size of a deerling which meant she was probably in her early twenties. She was quite the fair maiden to be working within the confines of the castle.

The deerling continued to stare at me as if I frightened her. Curiously I asked, "What's the matter?" The maid just stood there silent. It looked like she wanted to say something, but she seemed to be stuck in some sort of trance. "Are you okay?"

The deerling shook herself out of the trance and said in a high pitched voice that tickled my ears, "I think I should be the one asking you that question madam."

I looked at the maid and wondered what she was talking about until I figured out she was referring to the bruise on my belly. "Is it that easy to spot?" I asked embarrassed.

The maid opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. She closed her mouth and thought to herself for a minute before saying, "If I may be so bold as to say that the purple on red is easy to notice madam."

"Oh," I said quietly while feeling worse about walking around. I hoped that the maid wasn't going to question me about it a little more. I didn't currently have an excuse to use. Did I still need to use an excuse? Darwin had told me that neither Jameson or Mercy could harm me anymore so long as I'm in this kingdom. Should I take his word for it? Or should I just lie and make excuses like I always do?

I was mostly through with lying and making excuses, but part of me was still afraid of my older siblings. I was still afraid of Mercy's red glare and Jameson's cold touch. Plus, Darwin had told Jameson that he would face justice as soon as Father had gotten over my rejection. Which now that I thought about it. If I was going to be spending what little time I had left with Father, then he would recover much faster and I would probably be able to tell him about Jameson much sooner.

The only problem was having the courage to tell him about it. Only three people in the whole kingdom knew about Jameson's abuse of me and one of those people I trusted, one I didn't, and the other I didn't even know. Letting Father in on the truth would most likely be much harder to deal with than three people knowing. I didn't know how he would react and what he would do. If this were before the meeting we had in the morning, I'd believe he would just shrug it off. But now I don't know what I believe he'll do.

"Have you seen a doctor yet madam?" she asked while tilting her head to get a better look at the bruise. I was glad she hadn't asked how I got the bruise, but she still asked a question about it and unfortunately I didn't have enough time to answer questions. I needed to talk to Father.

"No. But it's not as bad as it looks. My grandfather already treated me slightly. So I'll be fine for now. Plus, I need to be somewhere," I said as I started to walk down the hall towards Father's room.

The deerling wasn't done with me however as she caught up to my side and said, "Speaking of your grandfather madam. He asked me to check up on you. I didn't know what for, but now I can understand why and I believe even if he has treated your belly, you should still get it checked out by a doctor."

"I'll do it sometime later. Right now I need to speak with my father," I responded hoping not to get sidetracked. The real reason I was trying to avoid a visit to the doctor was to avoid having to explain to another person why I had a big bruise on my stomach. The fewer people that knew the better.

"I understand," the deerling said before sighing. "Madam. If I may ask, how did you come to obtain such a big bruise?" There it was. The very question I was trying to avoid at all costs and she still asked it. What should I say? Should I lie?

I continued to walk in quietly finding no answer or excuse in my head to give her. We just walked together in awkward silence for the next few minutes and in those few minutes, I realized that I had not picked up her name yet. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her around the castle. Was she a new maid or was she just working in another part of the castle and got moved to this section?

She broke my train of thought as she said, "I can understand if you don't want to tell me about it, madam, but I'm hoping you will at least tell someone else like your grandfather about what happened."

"He already knows," I confirmed for her.

"Oh. I see. That is good to hear," the deerling said with a smile. "I'm hoping it gets better soon madam. You have my prayers."

That brought a small smile to my face. This maid was definitely not from around here for most maids avoided me like the plague due to Jameson and Mercy. My siblings didn't want me to have friends. It was their way of hurting me emotionally. Well, mostly Mercy's way. Jameson used other _methods_. As for male servants, Father was the one who scared them away. He forbid nearly all of the male servants from being close to this part of the castle.

Maybe that was his way of protecting me. The things he said during the meeting gave me mixed feelings and confused me in too many ways. Everything I had believed him to be was contradicted by the things both him and Darwin had said. This was one of those things. Before the meeting, I never thought of the banning of male servants from this part of the castle might have been his way of protecting me, but now it made more sense than I liked to admit. Then again, he was sending me off to some random man in the Wild. It was all so confusing.

"Please, just call me Angelica," I told the maid, offering my own smile. "May I ask what your name is?"

I've been locked up in the castle for most of my life. Father never let me venture out into the city to explore or to make new friends and the times that he did, a couple of guards or even one of my siblings would accompany me. Sometimes I would try to engage in a conversation with people, but the guards or one of my siblings would either take me back to the castle or scare away the person I would be trying to talk to. It was a terrible curse.

So meeting someone new to the whole royal maid thing and who didn't know much about me was a touch of relief even if I didn't have much time left in the kingdom. A bonus to this maid was her age. She had to be somewhere in her early twenties which meant talking to her shouldn't be too hard. Or maybe it would be with what little experience I had in making friends.

She seemed to beam with my question as she answered with, "Aria."

"That's a nice name. Where do you come from Aria?" I asked knowing what the answer might be. Most people outside of the main city didn't know much about me. They knew who I was, but they didn't know anything else like how I lived and what my feelings were like. I was just the youngest princess of the Kingdom of Arceus to everyone outside of the kingdom.

"I come from Altulian City. It's a pretty good distance out and I only moved here because I was offered a job as a maid in the royal castle," Aria said looking around.

"Did you move here with your family? Or did they stay back in Altulian City?" I asked hoping to learn more about my newfound friend.

The mood suddenly darkened as Aria's expression fell from joy to sadness. She spoke quietly and slow as she said, "I don't… have a family. I've lived most of my life as an orphan until I was offered a job as a maid in a decently sized mansion. I worked there for a couple of years until a week ago when I was offered a job in the royal castle."

As much as I was sad for Aria, I was jealous of her in a way. I had to suffer my family for seventeen years with it only getting worse by the day. She never had to deal with a father breathing down her next or siblings who treated her like an object. I wish I could've had her life. One without the responsibilities and the expectations.

"I'm sorry to hear that. It must've been rough," I said looking at her. Of course, I wasn't going to say I was jealous. She wouldn't understand why.

She smiled again as she looked back at me, "You have nothing to be sorry about mada- Angelica. I didn't expect to become a maid of the royal castle. It was so sudden and I thought only someone older and more qualified could fit the requirements. I guess not though."

I laughed quietly at that and said, "There is a lot of strange things about this castle, unfortunately. So don't be surprised that you got the job."

It _was_ strange though. Usually, Darwin was the one who picked out the maids for this part of the castle and he was good at picking them out too. He picked out very civilized, well mannered, and hard-working maids that were at least thirty years of age. He never picked a maid below thirty years, however, and this maid couldn't be over thirty years with how young she looked.

She laughed with me and said, "Something to figure out along the way I guess."

I wanted to ask more questions about herself. She was one of the only people I've gotten to have a genuine conversation with besides Darwin which made my heart jump up and down with joy. But the next corner we turned led straight to Father's room. I could see his door at the end of the hall and more importantly, I could hear him and someone else yelling back and forth.

As we got closer, I was able to distinguish the other voice clearly and realized it was Mercy's. I couldn't make out what she was yelling about, but it couldn't be good if she was barking back at Father.

Aria seemed to notice that my mood had shifted drastically and asked me, "Are you okay, Angelica?" I didn't want either Mercy or Father to find out that I had made a friend with one of the new maids. Mercy would most likely target Aria if she were to find out about her and I didn't want her to scare off my only friend.

"Aria. Thank you for talking to me. But I do not want my sister or my father seeing you," I said looking at her. "Go find my grandfather and see if he needs anything. That will be all."

Aria looked at me with deep confusion and concern. She knew something was wrong, but she just nodded her head and walked away. I let out a sigh of relief as she disappeared out of sight. I was probably going to have to explain the situation with me and my family to her later which didn't sound fun, but now wasn't the time to worry about that as I continued forward until I was in front of Father's room.

Inside the room, I heard Father say, "It's too late! Those savages already know it's her. There's not a damn thing I can do!"

"You ended the war because of her so why can't you start another one for her?! Or have you truly given up like a coward!" Mercy furiously yelled back at Father. Father ended the war because of me? What does that mean? Why would he do that? I felt my mind begin to start searching for an answer, an explanation for what Mercy just said.

"That is enough of you! This conversation is over. Get out!" Father roared at her.

"Gladly!" Mercy said while stomping her way towards me. The door opened and she walked out with hate and rage in her glowing red eyes. She looked both exhausted and annoyed. But her expression changed as she saw me standing in front of the door. She looked frightened. "How long have you been there?"

All I could do was remain still. I didn't know what to say and how to say it. I was both confused and afraid and Mercy's intense stare was only making it worse. But I took a deep breath as I attempted to speak in shaky words, "N-not long."

"Who are you talking to Mercy?" Father said from inside the room. I was now regretting coming here. Father seemed angry beyond belief and I didn't know how my presence was going to affect him.

Mercy continued to glare at me as she said back towards Father, "You'll see." She walked around me without uttering another word leaving me alone in front of Father's room.

"Hurry up and come in then. I don't have all day," Father said from inside the room. I steadied myself and summoned all the courage I could as I stepped into Father's room.

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**Hey readers. Sorry about this one taking a while to come out. I was working in a carpentry shop a few days ago and I managed to sand my good thumb.**

**For those of you who don't know what a Sander is. It's basically something that smooths wood out and I got my thumb sanded by a very fast spinning sander. It was very unpleasant.**

**So I hope you can understand the delay and the next chapter might also take a few more days. But I'll try my best to get it out on time.**

**Criticism and reviews are appreciated. See you next time.**

_"Make the leap"_ \- Nice Guy Wolf


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

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I'd been to Father's room a decent amount of times in my life, mostly to face the judgment of something I did wrong. His room was always clean and perfect. No speck of dust was to be seen, no sheet or curtain was wrinkled, and everything was set in a specified position. Even the slightest displacement would disturb him.

That was the kind of person Father was. Someone who prided themselves in the organization of everything and couldn't stand the slightest imperfections. It was even one of the things he first taught me and my siblings. That was probably another reason why he despised the Wild. Because they were reluctant to or too lazy to organize themselves properly and formally.

Once a week he would have someone come in and wipe the place down. He would have them sweep the floor and dust off all the furniture, wipe the window down to spotless, and set the bed perfectly. For a regular servant or maid outside of the castle, it would seem like a simple task. When they were given the job, however, Father would make it very clear that the room needed to be perfect by the time he got back. If it wasn't, it would end very badly for the unlucky servant or maid who had the job.

Father's room was decorated with very special items and a bunch of other paintings and trinkets. He decided that the fewer personal items he had, the less attached to the past he would be. But those few things were greatly important to him to the point that he still lived in the past. He had a silver book in a protected case locked against the left side of the room, a ring that belonged to Mother which lay on a soft cushion on the opposite side of the room, and a picture of him and mother next to his bed. He valued those three things with his life. He even came close to killing one of the servants for messing up the way one of the items looked. That servant whose name I didn't know was never seen in the castle again.

Now that I looked into the room, I could tell Father was in a mood no one had ever seen before. I know what he's like when he's angry, but this was on a whole other level. The room was a mess. The paintings on the wall were torn and/or were thrown down, the bed was flipped over with the sheets scattered across the floor, and furniture was broken. The only items that were untouched were the three items that he valued. It left me in shock to see what he had done to his room and I was seriously regretting ever coming here.

Father stood in front of the window looking out. The frustration was as clear as the cuts and bruises on his paws. He had a few wine bottles next to him that were empty. His face was puffy and red which told me right away that he had cried. His fur was a mess. It was unstraightened going down his back with spots of his body being a darker shade of yellow. I had never seen Father this reckless and unconcerned for his hygiene before.

I stepped back slowly towards the door. Any confidence I had walking into the room had suddenly left me terrified. How could I talk to him in the state he was in? He was barely stable at the moment and he may even be drunk which is one side of his that I had never seen before. But by the way the room looked, something told me I didn't want to find out. I would have to come back another time when hopefully he would be in a better state.

Before I walked out of the room, however, Father had turned my way and was now glaring at me with wide eyes. I couldn't tell what he was thinking as his cold blue eyes gazed into my own. I was paralyzed as he continued to stare at me for a few seconds. He blinked a few times making me wonder if he was trying to figure out if I was real or not.

"A-Angelica?" he asked in a shaky voice. He must've believed that I wasn't going to come back to see him again. He looked more defeated than when he admitted to losing the war.

"Hello, Father. I-is this a bad time?" I asked trying to find that same courage before. This was going to be harder than I thought. I was starting to remember all the things I had said to him earlier and it was only causing more unease. He probably had to be feeling the same way.

He looked at me again before scanning the room. He looked annoyed as he did and turned around to look outside. I wondered if me seeing the room was annoying him in some way. He didn't look happy to see me here and I couldn't figure out now whether that was because of what I had said or because of his destroyed room.

"D-do you hate me, Angelica?" he asked still looking away.

The answer should've been obvious. I hated him for many reasons. He had done so many cruel things to me in my past and a few days before I had to leave, I got to yell at him for all of those reasons. I should hate him. But I couldn't find it in me to say that. Part of me was telling me it was too horrible a thing to say. Maybe it was.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I want to say I do hate you. I really do. But I can't for some reason."

"I see…" he said. He continued to look out the window and took a deep breath. "What do you want? Surely there must be better ways to spend your last few days here than coming to talk to me." I heard him choke on those last words. I leaned to the right to see his face, but he turned away avoiding my sight.

"If there were any other ways, I would've already tried. But there's nothing in this kingdom that I'm sad to lose besides grandfather," I responded. I didn't know if that was necessarily true or not. I've lived in this kingdom my whole life. I'd never been outside of the kingdom and the thought of stepping outside of the boundaries scared me.

But then again, this kingdom had left me with so many horrible memories. Most of them involved my family. The only good things that had come out of it were grampa and my new friend that I had made not too long ago. So maybe I did mean it, and maybe I didn't.

"So you chose to come here? Make up your mind girl," he growled.

"I thought I had when I told you I never wanted to see you again," I said back. He noticeably flinched at my words but continued to look out the window. "But grandfather is amazingly good at convincing me otherwise."

Now Father had turned my way only slightly. I could only see the right side of his face, but that was all I needed to see to know that he was still crying. A few tears had fallen off his face and onto the floor. He didn't seem to notice though as he studied me carefully. I was wondering what he was staring at until his expression changed to disturbed and worried.

"What happened to you?" he asked taking a step towards me. He must've been looking at the bandage on my face, though I wasn't sure if he had noticed the bruise on my stomach yet.

"Nothing to be worried about right now," I said trying to avoid talking about the fight I had gotten into with Mercy and Jameson earlier. I didn't want to bother explaining the things that had gone down outside after I ran out of the meeting. For obvious reasons of course. I didn't want to anger Jameson or Mercy and I didn't want to explain what Darwin had forced Jameson to admit and apologize for.

"Nothing to be worried about? Look at your face, Angelica. It's-" he caught himself in his words as he tilted his head to the side. He finally noticed the bruise on my stomach and looked horrified and enraged. "Who did that to you?"

"I told you it's nothing to be worried about at the moment," I repeated. His persistence was becoming annoying.

"Was it Jameson? Did he do that to you? Or was it Mercy?" he asked taking a few more steps towards me.

"Enough!" I shouted at him. He stopped moving and stared at me. "Grampa already attended to it and dealt with the problem. Plus, you don't suddenly get to start caring about my well-being after everything you've done just because you apologized and said you wanted to spend time with me."

Father looked wounded as he stared at me. New tears were forming in his eyes, but he contained them and wiped his face with one paw. He turned around and walked back to the window where he picked up one of the wine bottles and chugged it down. After it was empty, he threw it against the wall where it shattered.

"I'm still your father. I have the right to be worried about your health," he argued.

"No, you don't. For the longest time, I had held onto the belief that in some way you still cared about how I felt or how healthy I was. That was until you locked me outside in that storm," I said grabbing his attention quickly. He turned to me and opened his mouth to say something. But I interrupted him and said, "If you were truly worried about me, you wouldn't have put me out there. That was the day that I realized that you didn't care as a father or didn't want to bother trying."

"I-I," he said looking at me trying to find an explanation in his head. But he closed his mouth shut realizing there was none.

"I don't want to hear your reasoning for it. I don't care and I don't have enough time," I said.

The tears that he had tried to contain were coming out now. He turned away trying to hide it. "Fine. I get it. You came here to get the last of your anger out. I can understand that. If you have anything else to say, go ahead and say it. I'll listen. If not, then I hope-"

"Stop," I said interrupting him again. Father had completely forgotten why I had come here. I told him that Darwin had convinced me to come here, but that flew right over his head after he noticed the bandage and the bruise.

"I didn't come here to yell out you or even get the rest of my anger out. I came here because I have only three days left in this kingdom and I don't know how to spend them otherwise. Grampa told me to give this a shot. So I'm here to give it a shot," I said.

That was just the truth of the whole matter. There was no other way of spending the rest of my time here. There was nothing fun to do and no one to talk to besides the new friend I had made. Even then, I was scared that if Mercy or Jameson noticed we had become friends, they might do something to her. I didn't want to remain in my room for the remaining time though. Three days could feel like an awfully long time.

Father was staring at me now. He had gone from depressed to joyful. I could see it written all over his face. "Really? You mean you'll give me one last chance?" he asked smiling.

"Not without ground rules first," I said. "I'm only giving this one chance and the second that I feel like it's going to end badly, I'm going to walk away. I also want you to answer all the questions I'll have because I have a lot of them."

Most of the questions I planned on asking would be about Mother. I wanted to know everything I could about her before I left. Especially since I had been lied to about what she was really like.

He nodded quickly and said, "I understand." He looked ready to burst with joy before saying, "Thank you, Angelica. I promise you won't regret this."

"I hope I won't," I said quietly. I was still extremely skeptical about giving Father another chance. It scared me to imagine what would happen if anything went wrong. But I couldn't bear to leave Father in such a defeated state. It just didn't feel right even though he had treated me like trash my whole life.

"I'll come back tomorrow," I said turning around to exit the room. "I need some rest."

"Hey, Angelica?" Father said making me turn around towards him real quick. "Thank you for this. I mean it. I'll make these three days the best days you'll have in this kingdom."

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**So this is ironic. This is one of the smallest chapters I've written out of both of my stories. But what's funny about that is it's going to be followed by one of the longest chapters out of both stories.**

**Which brings me to the next thing I wanted to say. The next chapter might take a while to come out because of how long it's going to be. I'll try my best to get it out as soon as I can though.**

**Criticism and reviews are appreciated. See you next time at the end of Part 1 of The Scourge Wars.**

_"Make the leap"_ \- Nice Guy Wolf


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

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As I walked out of the room, I was still debating in my head if I had made the right decision in giving Father another shot at redeeming himself. All those years of being forced to suffer his cruelty seemed overwhelming compared to what was going to be three days of getting to know someone I should've known from the moment I was born. But I couldn't just leave Father torn and broken over my departure. It didn't feel right, even with his tendency to make me feel terrible. I needed this as well even though I hated to admit it. I didn't want to know just about Mother, but about Father as well. Not the High Priest of the Kingdom of Celindrous side, but the Andrew Celindrous side. The side I never got to know.

I walked down the hall and found the light peeking through the windows. I realized it was still midday and that so much had happened in so little time. I didn't know what I would do for the remainder of the day, especially since I had plans for the next three days and I couldn't tell if I was excited about it or if I was dreading it.

However, I think I was dreading the trip out of the kingdom more than I was dreading spending time with Father. I had three days left in the kingdom where I was born and raised. Three days left until I had to leave and I was spending them with Father. After that, my fate would lie in the hands of some random chieftain who was one of the leaders of the Wild, of the savages existing on the other side of the border of the Kingdom of Celindrous.

Now I often wonder how I'll look in the Wild. I'll stand out like a single rose among a hundred dandelions. A well-disciplined and mannered princess from a highly religiously strict kingdom who is supposed to be unparalleled in beauty by any other female, living amongst the savages of a lawless country with no restraint on how far they can push themselves and wedded to a chieftain of that country who is unbeknownst to me.

That was yet another fear to add to the list of scary things that would be upon me in three days due time. If there was one thing being a princess did well for me it was without a doubt my fur. I always took special care in ensuring my fur was both clean and straight without getting a speck of dirt on it. I always kept to the cleanest parts of the road when I could and avoided any source that would dirty my fur.

Now that I thought about, I didn't wash off all the dirt in my fur from the tussle with Jameson and Mercy. I was more concerned with my face and the large bruise on my belly. Now that those had been taken care of along with the quick talk with Father, I could take a bath. Hopefully, a long hot one that would take up a good portion of the rest of the day without disruption. It would be nice to just relax and let my body soak in the comforting embrace of the warm water washing away my fears and stress.

Luckily, the kingdom was built around a large hot spring that was used only by the royals which included me. I often went there to shake off some stress or to wash away the world for a while. Plus, I felt closer to Mother when I was bathing in the spring weirdly enough. She was a vaporeon after all, so the thought of relaxing in the water allowed me to imagine I was relaxing in her embrace. I was hoping that my imagination would also help me think about the next few days leading up to my departure.

"Angelica," a whispery and unfortunately familiar voice called to me from behind. I dared not turn to the vicious and terrifying umbreon standing behind me. I could feel her red gaze piercing into my back. I knew I should feel safe enough after Darwin had threatened both Mercy and Jameson. Darwin was plenty times scarier than them if given reason to be, but Mercy could be seriously unpredictable sometimes and I was afraid that this might've been one of those times considering that I had overheard her conversation with Father which might've angered her in undesirable ways.

I took a deep breath before facing my older sister and turned my head. She stood in the door frame of one of the rooms staring at me with an expressionless face. I was relieved that she didn't look furious or enraged, but at the same time, Mercy was never expressionless. She either had a devious smile on her face or was boiling with anger. I didn't know what expressionless was supposed to foretell.

"We need to talk," she said softly but intent. I didn't care what she wanted to say or why she wanted to talk. Darwin had assured me they wouldn't be able to touch me and talk to me for the remaining days I had left in the kingdom. So I should just say no and walk away quickly, but trying to deny Mercy was asking to be buried six feet under.

I steadied my breath and mustered up what little courage I could as I responded with, "I-I don't want to talk."

I felt my heart drop as Mercy's expressionless face twisted with annoyance. I didn't know if it was the right moment to turn around and walk away. I was too afraid she might attack me if I did. I had to hope that Darwin's threat was good enough to deter her from trying to hurt me.

I slowly started to turn away in hopes to reach the springs and escape her wrath, but she walked out of the room closing the door behind her and said, "But I do. You have only three days left in this kingdom and I have a question that I want answered. So where you're going, I'm going too."

I didn't know what question she had for me, but I realized that there was no way of escaping the conversation that was to come. Mercy was the type of person who hated having lingering questions in her head and would always find a way to answer them even if she had to hunt someone down for it. I had no choice but to talk to her and answer her question whatever it may be.

"W-what's your question and why are you asking it now?" I asked quietly, but just loud enough for her to hear. "Y-you've had years to ask. So why now?"

The annoyed look Mercy was giving me faded and now she looked a little frightened and concerned. She stared at me for a few seconds before answering with, "It's not a question I knew I wanted to ask until very recently. Even then, I don't think it's a question."

I attempted to piece together what that meant and why it was frightening her and after a few seconds, I figured it out. I felt light-headed as my cheeks were surely flaring from shame and embarrassment. How was I supposed to react in a situation like this? I wished Darwin hadn't made Jameson apologize to me in front of Mercy. It was embarrassing enough knowing that my grandfather and some random maid knew about Jameson's abuse of me. Now that my older and terrifying sister knew about it, I wasn't sure if I was going to survive the remaining days.

"W-why do you care?!" I shouted at Mercy. Just like Father, she suddenly decided to care about me after my departure from the kingdom was announced. Why should I be led to believe that her feelings were true? Why should I have to explain to her when earlier in the day she had pummeled me to near-death?

"I have the right to care about my younger sister!" she barked back looking offended. Mercy was beginning to sound an awful lot like Father now and I don't think I could handle having both my father and my sister breathing down my neck to check how I was feeling.

"Is that why earlier you took the opportunity to try and kill me? Thank you so much for caring loving sister of mine!" I yelled at her sarcastically. I was losing control of my emotions as my eyes started to burn. I had no intention of telling her anything. She didn't deserve to know, for everything she had done to me.

Mercy walked over to me furiously and smacked me across the left side of my face hard. I felt the cut that she had given me earlier burn into the side of my face forcing a yelp out of me. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing! I was only punishing you for biting my leg. You deserved every bit of that beating," Mercy said angrily.

I wanted to retaliate, but the wound on my face was causing me a lot of pain. The tears I was trying to hold back began to roll down my face. The bruise on my stomach started to throb from all the quick breaths I was taking and I fell to the ground. It was like my day was getting worse as it went on. Nothing seemed to go right for me and I just wanted the day to be over already.

I felt bile rise from my stomach as I tried to control my breathing. I quickly swallowed it back down before it could escape my maw. It had done its job though by leaving a bad taste in the back of my throat. I wanted to be out of this situation as soon as I could and if I had to give Mercy some kind of answer to do that, I was going to give her something small, and hopefully, she would leave me alone.

She reached a paw down to me in what I think was an act to show that she actually cared in some manner. I didn't allow it to reach me as I swatted it away and gave her the answer that I hoped would give her enough to walk away, "Three years, okay. I lost count how many times it happened. There! You have your answer. Will you leave me alone, now?"

I didn't bother giving her time to answer as I stood up and kept on my way towards the baths. I had too much to think about right now and I didn't need my villain of a sister being another factor in the great confusion that was going to be the next few days.

"Angelica! Don't walk away from me. I'm not done talking to you yet!" Mercy barked, following me down the hall.

"What more do you want to know?" I said turning around to face her, "I've already told you how long it's been going on for. Do you now want me to explain how he does it and what position he places me in? Or maybe you want to know about how cruel it was because I know damn well you and cruelty are close friends!"

Mercy's anger flared up again as she picked up her pace towards me, but I refused to back down this time. Even if it got me hurt, I didn't want to feel weak anymore or to live in fear of my older siblings. Of Mercy to be specific, for I was still too afraid to ever stand up against my older abusive brother.

She raised her paw at me, but I stood still and yelled, "Go on! Prove it!"

Mercy had visibly hesitated and stopped her paw midair. She stood there glaring at me with anger, but she suppressed it as she lowered her paw. We were both at a loss for words as she glared at me. It was clear that she was frustrated and that she wanted nothing more than to smack me across the face again, but she just stood there and held it back. An accomplishment I didn't know Mercy was capable of.

Well now that I had stirred her thoughts and had given her more information than I wanted to, I felt as though I should get some answers pertaining to her conversation with Father. "Now that I've answered your question, I want to know what you and Father were talking about earlier," I asked, feeling only a little bold in trying to interrogate my sister.

She scowled at me, "So you did overhear something."

"It doesn't matter that I did, you and Father were discussing something about the war and how it had something to do with me. I want to know what you were discussing. It's only fair since I answered your question," I said back to her.

"You answering my question about what Jameson's done to you is different. That's something family should know about!" Mercy argued.

"That would apply if you were actually a good sister that meant family to me!" I shouted at her feeling my temper rise, "but considering that you don't care about me ever and that you beat me up whenever you so damn please I can't see that applying to you!"

Mercy growled at me but didn't raise a paw to smack me as I thought she would after making such a harsh statement. Instead, she proposed, "Fine. I'll tell you what Father and I were talking about after you tell me what you went to his room for. Does that sound fair to you?"

It didn't feel fair at all actually. I had already told her about Jameson which was a difficult issue to talk about. Now I had to tell her more just so I could know what her conversation with Father was about. As much as I wanted to continue arguing, I remembered that Mercy never told me much in the first place and that this was a rare occurrence where I could learn something from her. Even if it wasn't fair, I probably wouldn't be able to convince her otherwise.

"Sure I guess, but I don't want to talk about it here. I haven't had a bath yet and my body's currently covered in dirt that I acquired from a fight earlier," I said glaring at her, though she ignored the mention of the fight.

"That's fine. However, you'll be speaking first. Otherwise, I won't say anything to you," she said as she started down the hall towards the baths.

I followed behind her hesitantly. I didn't know if this was a good idea telling her about what the next three days would be like for me. I wanted answers, though. I wanted to learn all I could in these last few days that I had left before departing to the Wild. Even if that meant talking to my villainous sister and my terrible father to get those answers.

* * *

**As you can tell by now. I'm a very inconsistent person with my stories. I've tried making promises in the past that I knew damn well I couldn't keep. So I'm not going to make any more promises from here on out for they make me feel guilty.**

**Expect chapters to come out when I have time to write or when I feel like it. It might be inconsistent, yes. But that's honestly the best I can give you. I might be going into college here in a few months if this quarantine lets up before then. So that might slow progress down.**

**However, because we are currently in quarantine, I don't see a better time to start writing again. Don't get your hopes too high though. I'm not making promises. I'll write them out when I feel like it. And if you're interested in why it took so damn long. I had a lot going on with school and such and life decisions and such. I never lost interest in the stories, I just lost interest in writing for a while. Especially with this blasted computer.**

**Anyways. I'm going to start writing Scourge Wars again. Expect a chapter for that before you get another chapter for Angels and Demons.**

**Criticism and reviews are appreciated. See you next time.**

_"Make the leap"_ \- Nice Guy Wolf


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